Omega Child
by Sokin
Summary: After a neutral and genocide run, Frisk tries something new in the remade world: Mercy. Can Frisk, who gave their soul to Chara, truly make friends with the monsters? Is it even worth it when Chara can take over at any time and ruin things? Is the power of love and friendship enough to overcome a demon with your soul? Of course not! But perhaps, with the power of the monsters...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, and welcome to my second story, Omega Child. In this timeline, we follow Frisk's original route through the underground world of monsters in a neutral, genocide, and pacifist route, with a little twist later. This is not taking the place of my other story, FirstTale. It's just another idea I had knocking around in my head, and both will be worked on simultaneously. That said, strap in for a long haul, because we have three full runs to go through! Also, don't be afraid to leave a comment/review. I love reading them, and usually respond to them in the next chapter.  
**

 **Picture by Maryryn-Nya on tumblr.**

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I woke up on a bed of flowers.

That first time was terrifying. I thought I was a goner after tripping and falling into the hole. Down, down, down, seemingly forever, though it was just a few seconds. Hoping to wake up from a nightmare, or start flying, or anything before I hit the bottom. Instead, all I got was the wind rushing past my head and the rocky ground rushing up to meet me. I braced myself, trying to avoid the inevitable, hoping that the end would at least be quick. Next thing I remember was looking up at where I had been moments ago, both wondering if I was alive and afraid of what it meant if I was.

Would the lack of food or water take me first?

Would I freeze?

Would anyone find me?

" _Not likely,"_ a thought came, floating through my head.

I'm not sure how long I lay still, dreading my fate. Just a young boy, alone, with nothing but a stick, fallen into an impossibly deep hole inside a mountain no one else would climb. My chance of survival was a big fat zero.

Still, it could have been worse. Despite the fall, I wasn't in any kind of pain, and a quick once over confirmed nothing was hurt or broken. Even my old bandage, which I'd had to use a few times already, had stuck on.

That was when I noticed the reason for me being alive. Among the stone ground was a small patch of yellow flowers and loose soil, like from a garden. Some of the flowers had been crushed, but most were springing back up like they'd just taken a strong breeze and nothing more.

Rolling off the flowers, my eyes scanned part of the cave and saw that, to my surprise, there was a tunnel off to one side. I checked the rest of the small area and, finding nothing, headed off. I was caught off guard by the ancient-looking doorway at the end. If there was a door, someone had to live there, or used to. Maybe I could find help, or at least food and water.

The next room is when I met...him. Flowey the flower. Once I stepped close enough, he started a little speech, pretending to teach me how things worked under the mountain and acting like a friend. I should have known it was all fake, it was too good to be true.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!" His voice was so cheerful and happy, I got caught up in it. It wasn't often...or ever, really...that someone sounded glad to see me. Because of that, I fell for his shtick hook, line, and sinker.

"Hmm...You're new to the underground, arn'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!"

With that, I felt something strange happen, as though a bubble had formed around me and the talking flower. When I looked around, I could still see, but it was like viewing things through dark frosted glass. Flowey, meanwhile, was crystal clear, and floating in front of me was a bright red heart. Whatever movement I made, it followed, always staying the same distance away.

"See that heart? That is your soul, the very culmination of your being! Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

"What's el vee?" I asked, not sure what the flower was talking about.

"What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE of course! You want some LOVE, don't you?"

I'd have given anything for love then. If Flowey had asked me to, I probably would have given him my soul willingly if he promised to always be my friend. Instead, I just nodded, and he continued his practiced schpeel.

"Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" He topped his reply off with a wink, somehow making a twinkle pop out from his petals. Right after, little white things floated above him.

"Down here, LOVE is shared through...little white...'friendliness pellets.'" His pause when naming them was strange, like he was making the name up on the spot.

" _It's an obvious trick,"_ I thought. But that couldn't be right, Flowey was being so nice. It was okay to trust them, right?

"Move around! Get as many as you can!"

With that, he made the pellets lazily move towards me. I went to catch one of the pellets like I was told to, only for it to zip past my hand and go straight into my soul. Collapsing to the ground in pain, I listened to what I thought was the final words I'd hear.

"You idiot. In this world, it's kill or be killed. Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this?"

I was surrounded by those pellets as they formed a ring, leaving no chance of escape no matter which way I tried to crawl.

"DIE!"

" _I knew it."_ My inner voice was right, but that wasn't helpful at the moment.

The attack slowly closed in on me, spinning around while Flowey laughed maniacally. I was going to die, not by a large fall into a mountain or starvation or anything like that, but by a little flower pretending to be a friend. Just before I met my end though, what felt like a warm wave washed over me, making me feel better instantly and pushing the pellets away. Flowey looked just as confused as I did, at least before a ball of fire sent him flying through the air and into the darkness.

As I thought myself lucky, I heard footsteps coming from the direction the fire appeared from. Out of the strange vision-concealing bubble came a woman, but unlike any I'd ever seen. While her clothes were strange enough, a dress with an odd symbol on them, what she herself looked like was most surprising. She looked like a cross between a human and a sheep, or perhaps a goat, with white fur all over, large floppy ears, small horns, and a snout. I could also see sharp fangs jutting out from under her lips.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth." She looked off into the darkness as she spoke, looking to see if Flowey would return. When he didn't, she turned to me.

At that point, I was so confused and afraid. Falling into the mountain, having what I thought was a friendly flower creature try to kill me, and now a fire throwing goat monster standing before me was almost too much. I backed away, taking short, ragged breaths. She must have seen the terror in my eyes, because smiled softly and knelt down.

"Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins." Her voice was hushed but not too quiet, having an endearing and comforting quality to it, the exact opposite of the overly cheery and enthusiastic charade Flowey had used. She sounded like...like...

" _Like a mother,"_ came another thought. Yeah, like a real mother might sound.

"I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come down here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." With that, she stood back up and walked a few paces away, stopping to let me get up as well. I went behind her, taking time to stop at a strange yellow star in front of a double staircase, which gave me a feeling like I could do anything, as well as a few strange buttons hovering in front of me.

" _The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling you with determination. Hp fully restored."_ Wait, what was hp? Why would I think something like that? I held my hand over the first option.

" _Save."_ Wondered what it was saving, so I touched it.

" _File saved."_ What was a file?

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one." Toriel's words snapped me from my thoughts. Wait, new home? Was I trapped? It made sense, as I'd never heard of real monsters on the surface, so maybe they were all stuck in these ruins below the mountain. I tried to ask Toriel, but she continued talking.

"Allow me to educate you in the operation of the ruins." With that, she walked over some buttons on the floor, pressed a switch on the wall, and a door behind her opened.

"The ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

The next room had another 'puzzle,' but it was just pulling two switches that were in the open, and even marked. There was a third one, but it was broken and unmovable. Next was a smaller room with what looked like some kind of large doll.

"As a human living in the underground, monsters may attack you." Toriel said. Oh, that got my heart beating in worry.

"You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight." Was this supposed to be some simple combat training, or maybe how to run away or dodge attacks?

"While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time, I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy." I did as she asked, and she seemed happy, which made me happy too. The dummy didn't seem much for conversation though.

In the very next room, Toriel went ahead after asking me if I could solve the puzzle, only for a strange, large frog to jump out at me, making me yell. I did as I was told again and said something nice to it, making it blush while Toriel rushed back to chase the thing off. It felt nice having someone that could watch over and protect me. On the other side of the room was a bunch of spikes. Rather than risk me getting hurt, she took my hand and guided me across, the spikes sliding down into holes beneath us. Her hand was warm and soft, holding mine gently yet firmly. I didn't want to let go, but she pulled her hand away after the room, then turned around to look at me.

"You have done excellently thus far, my child. However..." Oh no. Did I do something wrong? Was she going to leave me? Would I be alone again?

"...I have a difficult request to ask of you. I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this." And she rushed off down the room, out of sight in the dark corridor.

I stood there, paralyzed, wondering what I had done to make her leave. My mind raced through the events of the day, thinking of and criticizing every little thing I did and didn't do. Did I not talk enough? Was I not friendly enough? Perhaps I was too weak and stupid?

" _It's a test. Just go."_ Well, my inner voice was more confidant than I was. It seemed to kick me out of my spiraling thoughts, and I started moving, slowly at first, then finding a decent stride. The hallway seemed to go on forever, with nothing but vines along the wall to show any progress. Eventually, I saw the a pillar near an exit. While passing the pillar, I saw movement come from behind it, causing me to flinch away, only to realize it was Toriel coming out.

"Greetings, my child. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me." I started to feel better at those words, thankful I'd passed her little test.

"However, there was an important reason for this exercise...to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself." So much for feeling better. Being told to stay in an unknown place, by myself, and just wait for someone to come back is something I didn't want to do again.

"I have an idea. I will give you a cellphone. If you have a need for anything, just call." She held out her hand, holding a very old cellphone. It was a large black box, with a small screen, large buttons, and an antenna that could be pulled up.

"Be good, alright?" She said as she handed the phone to me, then turned and left. I examined the phone, wondering why she had something like it and not something more modern. It had an option called for contacts, which had one number inside, a 'previous calls' feature, a clock, and...that's it really.

I had to make sure I wasn't being abandoned. I couldn't handle that again. So, with shaking hands, I quickly hit contacts, then dial on the number. It rang once...twice...

"This is Toriel." My breath was let out in a relieved sigh as I calmed down, now trying to think of something to actually say. I went with the first thing that popped into my head.

"H-hello..." I tried not to let her hear the quiver in my voice, the fear of her being gone still slowly leaving.

"You only wanted to say hello...?" She asked after a few seconds of awkward silence. I gave an 'mhm,' not trusting my words anymore.

"Well then. Hello! I hope that suffices. Hee hee." That laugh at the end, it sounded actually genuine, like she wanted to say hello to me as much as I did to her.

The call ended right after that, and I decided that I would do as she said. I sat against the pillar, clutching the phone, determined to be a good child so Toriel would come back. I waited what I thought was a couple minutes before getting nervous again and looked at the phone, dialing Toriel again. It rang twice before she answered.

"This is Toriel." Good, she was still answering. I thought quickly about what I wanted to say.

"Hi, Toriel. Can you tell me about yourself?" I had hoped she'd give me some details, maybe ramble a little about herself, anything to keep her talking.

"You want to know more about me? Well, I'm afraid there is not much to say. I am just a silly old lady who worries too much!" That was it, she hung up after that. It wasn't what I was hoping for, but it was better than nothing. Still, it didn't hold me over very long, and I dialed again soon after.

"This is Toriel." Seemed she used the same greeting every time she answered the phone.

"It's me, just...just wanted to say hi." God, I was pathetic, sitting there holding the phone to my ear as if it would bring me closer to her.

"You want to say hello again? Salutations! Is that enough?" She hung up too quickly for me to respond, though now I had a new word to try out sometime.

" _Would be nice to hear her voice again."_ I wasn't going to argue with that line of thinking, so I dialed Toriel once more.

"This is Toriel." Ah, her usual greeting. It was nice having something that didn't change.

"Um...hello again." I heard myself sigh internally at that.

" _Is that the only thing you can think of?"_ I hung my head a little, knowing I wasn't a very smart kid. I couldn't even talk to someone properly.

"Are you bored? I should have given a book to you. My apologies." I couldn't tell her that wouldn't have helped. I hadn't gone to school before, so I never learned how to read.

"Why not use your imagination to divert yourself? Pretend you are...a monarch! Rule over the leaf pile with a fist of iron. Can you do that for me?" I wasn't sure how to turn my hand into iron, but gave a quiet 'mhm' which she seemed to take, and hung up. There were only a few small leaves from the vines growing on the walls, so I gathered as many as I could find and put them into one pile. I didn't have a metal hand, so instead I sat on it, turning it into a pillow. At least it was softer than the floor, and I could pretend they were all trying to hold me up. I couldn't tell what the time said when Toriel handed me the phone, so I let the numbers change a few times before calling her again.

"This is Toriel." It sounded like she was going past a bunch of stuff and that she was busy, so I just gave her a quick greeting.

"My errands are taking longer than I thought they would. You must wait five more minutes. Thank you for being patient." She hung up after, but that was okay. I could do five, that was how many fingers I had on one hand. I sat, squirmed, lay down, got up and paced, jumped around, then checked the clock on the phone, expecting it to be close to calling her again. Instead, the numbers hand only changed once. I think my groan could be heard back where I fell down. Eventually though, the numbers changed five times and I called Toriel again.

"This is Toriel." This time it sounded like she was moving quickly, the wind hitting the microphone sometimes.

"Hi Toriel, are you coming back now?" I asked, hopeful that she was done and rushing back to me.

"I found what I was looking for, but before I could take it..." She paused a moment, as if distracted or looking around.

"...a small, white puppy snatched it away. How odd. Do dogs even LIKE flour?...Er, that is an unrelated question, of course. It will take a little longer. Please understand." She ended the call there, leaving me to wonder what she was trying to do, and what I would do.

" _Could just leave."_ I could, but I said I'd be a good boy and wait for her. She even gave me a phone and answers every time I call, so she'll come back. This time will be different.

Every time the phone's clock changed numbers five times, I called. However, Toriel wasn't answering anymore, though on most I could still hear her voice. Instead, it sounded like the dog from before had taken her phone away and was hiding. I wanted to be good and wait, I really did, but I was getting hungry and tired, and no one was answering the phone anymore. I got up and slowly moved towards the doorway. No sooner had I stepped out of the room than the phone rang.

"Hello? Hello? This is Toriel," she said before I could get a word out.

"My apologies. A strange dog kidnapped my phone, so if you called, I could not have helped you. However, I have recovered it. And you are still in that room, are you not? What a good child you are. There are a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain. Be good, alright?" I couldn't get a word in at all before she hung up. I was worried now, I'd disobeyed her and had left the room with pillar, meaning I wasn't really a good child now and she wouldn't want a bad child and would leave me while everyone else ignored me and...

" _Relax, and just go. Nothing you can do about it now."_ Right. My inner voice was right. I could only do what I did before, just go. There was one of those big frogs near the door, but I was too afraid of it to go near it, going instead through the door behind it. There was a bowl with what looked like candy inside, with a little note that I couldn't read.

" _It says 'take one.'"_ Don't know how my thoughts knew that while I didn't, but I was too hungry to think about it much. I reached up and plucked a piece, popping it into my mouth right away, getting a surprise as it dissolved. Turning around and leaving the rest like the note said, I stepped back into the other room and took a look around. It looked like another small purple hallway, only now it had red leaves all over the floor. Walking over a pile with one of those odd stars floating above was kind of fun, hearing the crunching leaves with every step. It made me feel like things weren't as bad, and that I could keep going. After a bit, I touched the star to see what would happen this time.

" _Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with determination. Hp fully restored."_ So same as before, including the save option. Pressing my hand to it, I saw what looked like the same buttons like last time. I moved my hand to the second one this time.

" _Return."_ Wondering what that meant, I went to press it.

" _You won't save, and if something happens then you'll go back to the previous star."_ What...how did I know that? There couldn't be anyone else, since these were thoughts coming from my head, but how could my thoughts know something I didn't? Was I going crazy now? In my hesitation, I felt something like a push on my hand, as though someone was trying to move it towards the other button but they weren't strong enough. Not wanting to make angry whatever it was, I moved my hand for it and pressed the save button.

" _File saved."_ It almost sounded like there was a sigh of relief at the end of that thought.

A little creeped out, I walked away from the leaves and the star, thoughts wandering and not paying attention, only to jump in fright by a loud croak right in front of me and my soul popping out. In my way sat another strange frog, looking at me like it was somewhat confused.

" _Froggit doesn't seem to know why it's here,"_ my inner voice said. Well, I could certainly relate. Remembering what Toriel said about fighting, I went to talk to it to try and keep things calm and wait for her to return.

"Uh, h-hello there. You look very n-nice Mr. Frog," I said while trying to give my best smile. I might've been imagining it, but I thought I saw the Froggit blush.

" _It didn't understand what you said, but was flattered anyway."_ The voice in my head sounded amused, so it looked like I made two things happy with that. Now all I had to do was wait for Toriel and...

I almost missed the buzzing sound before it was too late as what looked like a small white fly flew towards my soul. I barely got out of the way in time, jumping to the side, only to then hear another buzz to my side. This one was too close and smacked into the heart, sending pain through my whole body. Another few flies came towards me, but they were all easier to get away from.

" _Froggit seems reluctant to attack you,"_ the voice in my head said. This confused me, since I didn't know what reluctant meant. Either way, the frog was still there and hopping to and fro, so I tried again.

"You can jump r-really well. C-could you jump away, please?" There was more desperation in my voice this time, not wanting to get hurt again. The Froggit looked at me as I talked, and then...meowed? That caught me off guard enough to make me not see another magic fly coming at me, knocking into my soul from above. I felt a sharp pain go through me, like a lot of needles all over. In a panic now, I tried to back away, narrowly avoiding a second fly, but then getting smacked again by a third when I hit the wall behind me.

" _Talking isn't working, try something else,"_ the voice inside my head suggested, but that's not what I was supposed to do. I had to talk to it and wait for Toriel. She was supposed to come and stop the fight like she did before. She'd come back, she had to come back.

The Froggit seemed to get tired of watching me do nothing, because the next thing I know it takes a big leap at me and tackles my soul, causing even more pain than the flies. I couldn't help myself and swung my arm at it, smacking it against the head and knocking it off. It hurt to stand now, but I had to do something. Maybe since I hit it...

"If you keep fighting, I-I'll hit you again!" I yelled at it, trying to scare it off. It started to shudder like it was scared, but instead of running away it sent more flies at me. I almost got away from them all, but the last one managed to graze my heart, knocking me to my knees and bringing tears from my eyes.

" _Do something else, or you'll die!"_ It was right. I couldn't take much more of this, and I was realizing that Toriel wasn't coming. I was on my own again, with someone actively trying to kill me. There was only one thing I could think to do. With a loud yell of desperation, I pushed myself up and rushed at the frog creature, delivering a hard kick to its face. That sent it rolling on the ground into another section of leaves, where it stopped moving. Then it seemed to come apart and turn into dust, with most of it flying off on an unfelt breeze, but still leaving a large pile.

I couldn't believe it, I had just killed something. Sure, it was trying to do the same to me, but...I was a murderer. I was a bad child, a stupid boy that couldn't do anything right, like I'd heard so many times. I sat down and started to cry, both from the pain and the experience. I don't know how long I was there, but when I looked back up, the frog that was by the door was gone, probably scared away.

" _...Go to the star."_ The voice in my head didn't seem too happy either. I probably made it mad too. Even so, I did as it suggested and went back to the yellow star in the leaves, touching it. Somehow, I felt completely better, and touched the 'save' button thingy again.

" _You did what you had to do. Guess the flower was right, it's now kill or be killed here, too."_ No, the voice wasn't angry, it was...sad. Whether it was sad that I killed the frog or that it tried to kill me, I didn't know. What I did know was that I had to get out of this place as soon as possible. It wasn't safe, not for me, nor for anything coming after me. I looked on ahead and took a deep breath before taking a firm step forward, the first of many.

" _The thought of leaving this awful place fills you with Determination."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2! Took a little while, but I'm happy with it. We continue Frisk's first journey through the RUINS, accompanied by a mysterious voice in their head.**

 **Guest: Sorry about all the game mechanics. I tried to balance it with the actual story, but I couldn't not add them since they're an integral part of Undertale.**

 **Drivingmaster19: Thanks for the nice review! I will keep it up, and hope you enjoy this next part as much as the first.**

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Walk...

Fight...

Puzzle...

Walk...

Fight...

Puzzle...

The pattern would become tedious rather quickly. I would walk into a purple room, guided by the voice in my head, who seemed to be really good at figuring puzzles out. Then, whenever any monsters would pop up, I was quick to turn them to dust before they could hurt me too much.

The first room after the run-in with the Froggit was a pitfall room, with the hole covered by cracked flooring. I was thankful when I fell into a large pile of leaves below, which cushioned my fall, instead of onto the hard floor. Then there were two doors with steps leading back up, one before the fake floor and one after.

I barely took a step into the next room before Toriel called. "Hello, this is Toriel. For no reason in particular, which do you prefer: cinnamon or butterscotch?"

I couldn't really answer for a very good reason. "I don't know," I said. "I never had either one."

Toriel made a hum, then replied with "Oh, I see. That's fine, my child. It was just a silly little question." She then hung up, only to call again a second later. "Hello, this is Toriel. You wouldn't mind trying both of them, would you? Would you turn your nose up if you found them on your plate?"

"Um, no. I would try them," I said back, wondering just how they could taste. I didn't get sweets very often, and when I did it was usually just something made with simple sugar.

"Right, right. I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way." With that, Toriel hung up again, letting me get back to the puzzle rooms. This next one was so easy I figured it out without the voice's help, merely pushing a surprisingly light rock on top of a pressure plate, causing the spikes blocking the exit to retract. It was here that a strange snot monster first appeared.

 _Act: Check. "Moldsmal – Atk 6 Def 0. Stereotypical: curvaceously attractive, but no brains."_

I didn't really have time to ask what that all meant, having to dodge large magic circles that exploded into smaller ones, making it hard to get away. I took a hit, but quickly dispatched the monster after, turning it to dust. I didn't like doing it, but I didn't have much of a choice.

" _Your LOVE increased."_ That was odd, because doing that didn't make me feel loved at all.

In the next room, I saw a large section of the ground covered in the fake floor and groaned. I tried one spot and thought things were fine for a second, only for the ground to crumble beneath me. Fortunately there were more red leaves to catch me, and I went back up to try again. I fell two more times before being told to go look at the sign under the floor.

" _Please don't step on the leaves. Oh, makes sense."_ The voice seemed to figure it out, and guided me through the puzzle once again, this time without falling into the chamber below. Just after exiting, I was attacked by two frogs at the same time. I think I was learning how to stay away from their attacks, because I was only hit once before they both turned to dust.

Next room had the same easy rock and button puzzle, so I figured I could do it on my own. The first rock slid into place, but the spikes stayed up. Same after moving the second rock onto a button. As I went to push the third rock, a new voice called out.

"Whoa there, pardner! Who said you could push me around?" The voice came from the rock itself, which startled me enough to make me lose my footing and fall on my backside. This set off a fit of laughter from the voice in my head as I got back up.

"Sorry. Would you move please?" I asked softly, not really knowing if that's what you did with a talking rock.

"Hmm? So you're asking me to move over? Okay, just for you, pumpkin," the rock said, making me hopeful it was that easy. Sadly, it only moved over a little bit, no where near close to the button.

"Could you move a little further?" I asked it, wondering if it could even see where it was going.

"Hmm? You want me to move some more?" I nodded at the rock's question. "Alrighty, how's this?" It then moved again, but this time in the wrong direction off the little track behind it.

"Oh, um, not that way," I said when it stopped.

"Hmm? That was the wrong direction? Okay, think I got it." With that, the rock finally moved onto the button and the spikes went down, opening the way out. However when I got close, the spikes shot back up. Turning around, the reason became apparent as the rock had moved off the button. Now getting annoyed, I marched back over to it.

"You were supposed to stay on the button," I said, my annoyance coming through the tone of my voice.

"Hmm? You wanted me to stay there? You're giving me a real workout," it said before sliding back onto the button. I approached the lowered spikes slowly, just in case, then ran across them. Thankfully the rock did stay in place, so nothing bad happened.

As I turned back around from looking at the rock, I was surprised to find three Moldsmals in the way. Before they had a chance to do anything, I swiped at one with my stick. It did hurt it, but not enough to turn it to dust. Then all three attacked at once. I was hit several times in the soul and knew I couldn't take them all on.

" _Hp is low. Maybe if you FLEE, they'll show MERCY and not follow."_

I wasn't going to die to these things, so I took the voice's suggestion and ran past the Moldsmals. Once I was out of the strange field around us I looked back and saw none of the monsters were chasing, instead just doing...blob stuff.

I then found a room with another of those stars in it next to a table with some cheese. Going to check the table first, I happened to glance over a see a small hole in the wall. Leaning down and peering in, I could just make out a tiny squeak coming from within. Next I moved to the table and tried to take the cheese, but no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't budge.

" _This cheese has been here quite a long time. It's stuck to the table."_

So I gave up on acquiring the cheese, leaving it there for the mouse to someday get it off. Instead, I touched the star and, at the urging of the voice, SAVEd again. I still had no idea what that actually did, but it seemed important. I also felt better, like I hadn't been hurt at all.

The next room surprised me. Well, not the room itself, but what was in the room. In the middle, laying down on a bunch more leaves, was what looked like one of those not scary ghost decorations you see around Halloween. As I got close to it though, it was saying the letter Z a bunch, and now and then opening one eye to peek at me.

"Are they gone yet?" It asked, quietly, though I'm not sure to whom. I couldn't get around it since it was big enough to cover most of the gap in the hallway.

" _Move it with force?"_ The voice suggested. I looked around a bit, but saw no other option, so I nodded and stepped up to the ghost. It rose up as my soul came out again, looking like it had been crying while lying on the ground.

" _Napstablook – Atk 10 Def 10. This monster doesn't seem to have a sense of humor..."_

"oh, i'm REAL funny," Napstablook replied. Wait, he wasn't replying to me since I hadn't said anything. Could he hear the voice in my head too? Before I could ask him, he started a crying fit. I went to go pat him, since that helped me whenever I cried, but then the tears looped around and hit my soul, hurting me. I yelled out and backed off, which seemed to startle Napstablook enough to stop crying for a bit.

" _Even when crying they're trying to kill you..."_ the voice said morosely.

I couldn't let myself get hurt more by the magic tears, so I tried to make the ghost go away by swinging my stick at it. I expected it to just go right through him, but instead it looked like he actually got a little hurt. That could've just been the normal crying though.

"i'm fine, thanks," he said, then started crying again. This time the tears came down like normal instead of going all around, and it was easier to keep away from them. I swung again, sensing that he got hurt once again.

"just plugging along." This time, he didn't attack back, but words floated in front of me that I couldn't understand. I was glad to have a break though. Another hit from me and he seemed to double over a little more.

"nnnnnnggghhh," was all he grunted, then more of the looping tears fell from his eyes. Try as I might, there were too many and I still got hit once. I retaliated and slashed again, thinking this would be the last one before he turned to dust. It connected, he grimaced in pain, and...

"um...you do know you can't kill ghosts, right? we're sorta incorporeal and all. i was just lowering my hp because i didn't want to be rude," he said. I was dumbfounded, realizing he was pretending to get hurt because that's what I was trying to do. I felt like the idiot I was.

"sorry, i just made this more awkward...pretend you beat me. ooooooooo..." With that, Napstablook faded away.

" _You won! You...lost one exp?"_ The voice sounded confused, but that's how I felt a lot when it talked. Instead, I just shrugged and kept on moving now that the way was clear. I went down the path straight ahead, but all that I saw were two spider webs, a ton of spiders, and a sign.

"Um, what does this say?" I asked the voice in my head after moving in front of the signpost.

" _Spider bake sale. All proceeds go to real spiders."_

"Oh. I don't have any money though..." I said sadly. I wondered what kind of foods spiders could make.

" _Because you haven't been picking it up, dummy. Every time you beat a monster, they drop some."_

Now that I heard that, I thought back to the monsters I'd fought and remembered seeing something in the piles of dust, but I didn't try to see what it was. Why would I want to touch that?

" _Just get it out next time. The dust isn't going to hurt you, and you need it more than the monsters at that point."_

With nothing else to do, I went back the way I came and took the doorway on the right instead. A Froggit stood next to a sign, making me wary of approaching. Thankfully it seemed I didn't need to get too close for the voice to read it.

" _Did you miss it? Spider Bakesale down and to the right. Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!...Yuck!"_

I had to agree, eating spiders didn't sound very appetizing. So I stayed away from the Froggit while moving towards the exit on the other side of the room, only to have the cell phone ring just before the doorway. My hands couldn't move fast enough to answer it.

"Hello?" I asked, hoping it'd be Toriel, even though literally no one else knew this number.

"Hello?" Came Toriel's voice, and I let out a sigh of relief on hearing her. "I just realized that it has been a while since I have cleaned up. I was not expecting to have company so soon." She sounding like she was inside someplace and moving around a lot, probably cleaning.

"There are probably a lot of things lying about here and there. You can pick them up, but do not carry more than you need. Someday you might see something you really like. You will want to leave room in your pockets for that." Before I could get a word in myself, she'd hung up.

Sighing, I moved into the next room, which again had fake floors, but only in a few spots. Thankfully there was a sign on the wall nearby.

" _It says 'There is just one switch.' You should really learn how to do this yourself sometime."_

Ignoring the comment, because how could I possibly learn something like that without going to school back on the surface, I proceeded to look everywhere for a switch of some kind on the walls and floor, but found nothing. I knew what I had to do, but wasn't looking forward to it. Picking a random cracked floor, I jumped onto it, feeling it crumble around me.

After picking myself up off the leaves, I looked around and saw what looked like a large carrot in the ground. Thinking no one would be mad if I ate it, I reached to pull it out of the ground, only for it to spring up on its own. It had a wicked looking face on it, and it was staring right at me!

" _A Vegetoid came out of the earth!"_

Well, I knew what to do by now, so I took my stick and bashed it on the...head...hair...grass? The carrot just cackled softly after.

"Part of a complete breakfast," it said, then shot several magic carrots above me, which then began to rain down. It was tough to dodge them, but thankfully I got away without a scratch. Once they were all gone I retaliated and struck at it, this time smacking it across its, um...face? Or was that it's body? Either way I hit it again.

"Contains vitamin A," was its next quote. The way it was talking made it sound like it wanted me to eat it. This time its attacks looked like all kinds of different vegetables, and they bounced all over the place. I was hit twice and knocked down, but quickly got back up. This time I didn't attack, at least not the normal way. Instead I ran up to it and bit it, taking a chunk off of it.

What? It wanted me to.

The taste was...okay. Tasted like a non-moldy carrot, which I can tell you tastes a lot better than a moldy one. The vegetoid just laughed again.

"Ate your greens!" And with that, it burrowed back under the ground so far I couldn't see it. However, it did leave behind four yellow coins, which I scooped up like the voice told me to. Realizing I still had the carrot monster in my mouth, I quickly chewed it and swallowed.

" _You recovered 5 hp."_

I knew I'd have to ask about that sometime, but for now I was getting tired and sore and just wanted to find Toriel. There was a doorway and stairs nearby which took me back up top. Reciting a rhyme to choose the next hole, I picked the middle one on the left. After falling in, it turned out to have the switch inside! Now all I had to do was walk back up, go through the door and...

...get ambushed by a Moldsmal and something new.

" _Huh, a Migosp crawled up close."_ That must've been what the bug-looking thing was called. I made sure to hit it first, and it looked like it really hurt.

"Obey the overmind!" It said after I hit it. I had, and have, no idea what the overmind was, but before I could try to guess I needed to dodge magic exploding balls and magic bees. Thankfully it wasn't too tough, and my next hit on Migosp turned it to dust. After that, it was easy to beat the Moldsmal, and I walked away with more coins.

" _That's ten more gold."_ Ten and four? I couldn't count that high, I didn't have enough fingers. Now though, I was free to move into the next room. Of course, it had another puzzle and another sign.

" _The far door is not an exit. It simply marks a rotation in perspective."_

"It does what with what?" I asked the voice, completely confused as to what it just said. Looking around, I did see some brightly colored statues, and it looked like the whole room was slanted downward a little.

" _It just means the next few rooms are the same, just turned around a little."_

"Oh," I replied, still not really sure what it meant. There was only one way to find out, so I moved forward and found the first door open already. I was heading towards it when a monster popped out from behind a pillar to stop me. It had one large eye taking up most of its body, with small arms and legs, and little horns.

" _Loox drew near. Family name: Eyewalker."_ The voice chuckled at that, but I wasn't sure why.

"Don't pick on me!" The Loox cried out angrily, and threw several wavy circles towards me. It wasn't too hard to get away from them, and I was able to get a hit in with my stick on its side.

"Don't point that at me," was its next line, followed by more circles, only this time they bounced around inside the strange magic bubble we were in. Each bounce they went faster, making it tough to avoid, but I managed it. My next hit was right on its giant eye.

" _Loox is watering,"_ the voice said, and indeed it looked like Loox was about to cry, but it didn't try to run away, instead just attacking again.

"Quit staring at me!" It launched another volley of wavy circles, and again I managed to get away without a scratch. With one more hit, it turned to dust, leaving some shiny coins on the ground.

" _That's another five gold for you."_

I just shrugged, doing my best to not think about what was going on. I didn't want to kill all these things, but they wouldn't stop. Instead, I went to the next room and it did indeed look just like the last one. This time, the sign was around the corner.

" _If you can read this, press the blue switch."_ I looked around a bit and found the green and red switches, but the blue one was harder to find. Turned out it was hiding on the other side of the first pillar, which I would've seen if I had paid attention like a good boy should. I pressed the switch, the spikes lowered, then it was off to the next room, and the next sign which was right beside the entrance.

" _If you can read this, press the red switch."_ That one was easy enough as the switch was around the corner next to the pillar. Before I could go to press it, another Loox jumped out at me. I managed to dust it as easily as the last one, and gained five more gold. The voice told me my LOVE increased again too. The next room was much the same, except I had to hit the green switch. Thankfully, it was just off to the side and easy to get to.

Just as the spikes went down, I heard something else behind me, and a Moldsmal and Migosp were crawling towards me. I took a hit from the exploding magic ball, but managed to dust both of them right after, and got five and one more coins.

The next room was just a hallway with two exits, so I decided to go straight and see where that took me. After another small hallway, and avoiding a Froggit standing nearby, I came to a small balcony overlooking a city. Even though it was kind of dark, very few lights were on. On the ground nearby was a toy knife. That seemed like something that I could use, at the very least to help me practice fighting.

Going back the way I came, I took the exit to the side of the first hallway. A large black tree with red leaves all around took up some of the space, and as I went to look at it, I heard a familiar voice.

"Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would." It was Toriel! I finally made it. She walked to the side of the tree, looking down at the cell phone to dial. She put it up to her large ear and looked up in surprise as my cell phone rang. She then rushed over to me.

"How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?" She looked me over and saw all the cuts, scrapes, and bruises I'd gotten. I was embarrassed that she had to see me like that, even though it wasn't too rare for me to be like that on the surface.

"Who did this to you? You will get an apology," she said with a firm tone and stern look after she healed me again. No one had ever had to say sorry after they hurt me, though I doubted any of the dust piles could apologize. Though what if monsters could come back to life, or just became ghosts? I wouldn't feel so bad if that was the case.

"I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this. Err..." Now it was her turn to look flustered. I was just trying to figure out what she just said though.

"I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, small one!" She then turned on her heals and walked back the way she came. Going around the tree revealed a small purple-brick house with one of those stars in front of it. Red leaves were used to decorate in front of the windows, though the windows didn't have glass, and there was no door in the doorway. Overall, I thought it looked nice. I went and touched the star, since I knew that's what the voice would want. As I did, I felt something inside me again, like after all that, I could do anything because I had a safe place to go.

" _Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the ruins gives you determination."_ Once again, I pressed SAVE before going into the house. Toriel was waiting just inside the doorway.

"Do you smell that?" She asked with a smile on her snout.

"Surprise! It is a butterscotch cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival." That was exciting, having a snack made just for me. I couldn't wait to try it!

"I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on the snail pie for tonight." Wait, snail pie? I never knew those slimy things could be made into a pie.

"Here, I have another surprise for you." She then took my hand and led me into the hallway to the right, the wall color changing from a light yellow to a bright tan. Stopping at the first door, she let my hand go and turned towards it.

"A room of your own. I hope you like it!" I can just imagine the surprised look I must've had when she said that. I never had a house to sleep in, let alone my own full room. I felt her hand on my head and leaned into it, wanting to turn and hug her, feeling tears of joy welling up in my eyes. Before I could, she took a big sniff and turned quickly towards the entrance.

"Is something burning? Um, make yourself at home!" With that, she rushed off past the main doorway and rounded a corner, disappearing. I reached out slowly for the door in front of me, turning the handle and entering.

The light inside a lamp was already on, and it shone in a bright red room. It was decorated with small furniture, stuffed monsters, toys, and a bit carpet in the middle. I was so excited, I had to go around and look at everything. There was a toy box by the bed, but the toys inside looked really old and I wasn't too interested, but just having the room was enjoyment enough. There were lots of striped shirts and other clothes in the cabinet, an empty picture frame, lots of shoes in several sizes in a small chest, and the lamp.

The last thing in the room to check was the bed. I climbed on top of it and rolled around a little, amazed that I had an actual bed to sleep in. When I stopped moving and lay there for a second to think, I realized how tired I actually was. I could barely hold my eyes open after a minute, and fell asleep right after. The last thing I remember was the voice in my head talking softly.

" _It's okay. You're safe now."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome to chapter 3, where we finish Frisk's run in the the ruins.**

 **Drivingmaster19: Thanks so much for reading. I don't usually like genocide runs either unless there's a compelling reason, so that's what I tried to do. However, this isn't the genocide run yet. I have other plans for that which I think you'll find...intriguing.**

 **GhostieDragon: Right now, Chara is just a voice/spirit, so they have no gender. Which is to say I'm lazy and haven't decided which one to make them yet.**

 **shadow: Great to hear! Hope you continue to enjoy.**

I woke up on a bed.

No. Not a bed.

MY bed.

It was warm and soft and oh so comfortable.

Because it was mine.

It had been mine for one month, according to Toriel. To anyone looking in, it would seem things were perfect for me now. Every day, I'd wake up in my bed to the smell of Toriel cooking breakfast. After eating and bathing, I'd get lessons like they give in a school, which isn't surprising as Toriel admitted she wanted to be a teacher. I was learning my letters and numbers, and was even learning to write! I couldn't spell or read a lot of things, but I was told I was doing well.

Lunch would be in between lessons, and after teaching Toriel would make a snack. During the free time we'd find things to do, whether it was coloring, games, or listening to her reading, though that was usually saved for after dinner. I think I at more in the one month than I had the rest of my life combined. Even Toriel commented that I was gaining weight once when sitting on her lap, watching her read a book. That was apparently a good thing, since she said I almost looked like a skeleton when she first saw me.

Every now and then we'd have a day off where we did other stuff. She showed me places where there's lots of bugs, and each one we caught she told me the names of. There's also all kinds of places in the ruins, which used to be called HOME I'm told, that she liked to visit.

Once while we were playing, someone (not me I swear) started a tickle fight. I was quickly overpowered and squirming on the ground from Toriel's relentless assault, begging her to stop. It was then that I let something slip without thinking first.

"Stop, Mom. Please," I got out between fits of laughter. She did stop immediately, a shocked look on her face.

"Huh? Did you just call me...Mom?" As she said that, the smile faded from my face only to be replaced first by one of surprise, then one of horror. I couldn't believe I said something like that. Surely she didn't think of me as her actual child, I was just some dirty kid she took pity on. My body felt ice cold as I awaited her rebuttal.

"Well...I suppose..." She looked away from me, thinking. I could just imagine the thoughts going through her mind about how to let me down, but gently, as was her way.

"Would that make you happy? To call me..." She turned her head back to look at me, a small but hesitant smile on her lips.

"...Mother?" I couldn't seem to find my voice to speak, so I just nodded instead. I think only a second passed between that and her answer, but it felt as if it went on forever.

"Well then, call me whatever you like!" As she said it, her smile grew wide and she held out her arms. I lay there, dumbfounded at her answer until it hit me that she was being completely serious and honest. I don't think I've ever moved as fast as then, practically launching myself into her arms.

However, not everything was so great. Every time we went somewhere, I could see them from the corners of my eyes, feel their gaze watching my every step. From the shadows, the rooftops, and all kinds of hidden nooks and crannies, the monsters of the ruins watched me. They all knew what I had done, what kind of person I really was. I was afraid that at any time, one would come up and tell Toriel what happened. I was also afraid of what I might do if they tried.

Sometimes Toriel would have to go out on an errand or two and leave me. I would tell her goodbye, watch her disappear into the ruins, then quickly run to my room and close the door, doing my best to barricade it shut. I knew they'd come for me sometime, once they worked up the courage. So far none have tried, but it was only a matter of time.

The voice was still there too, though they didn't talk much when Mom was around. It was mostly when I was in my room, either hiding from the monsters outside or laying in bed for the night. It told me there was more to the mountain than just the ruins, and didn't know why Mom stayed there all the time. It did let me know that sometimes, when she thought I was asleep, Toriel would sneak downstairs for a long time. It thought she was laughing somewhere down there.

There was another problem as well. Every night for a while, I would hear a voice talking to someone, using a name I'd never heard before. When he did, it would feel like I was really sick and hurt, and then I'd wake up with a start. A couple times I thought I heard crying, but the voice told me it must be my imagination, whatever that was.

Because of this, I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. Mom noticed that I was drowsy all day, and nearly fell asleep at our lunch break, so she said it would be ok to have a nap instead. As I lay there, the voice spoke up.

" _This isn't right. Toriel used to leave the ruins all the time, but now she refuses to, and monsters didn't used to attack people,"_ it said in a hushed tone, as if someone else could hear it.

"How do you know that?" I asked, genuinely curious. The voice never talked about itself, so I had nothing to relate them to.

" _I just do,"_ it said in an annoyed tone. _"Look, I know you want to stay here, but we have to see what's happened. We have to leave the ruins."_

"We can't leave!" I raised my voice, only to hear the voice shush me.

" _Why not? She never said you can't. Besides, I know my way around the rest of the underground. We'll be fine."_ It was true that Mom had never said I couldn't leave, but if she'd wanted me to see the rest of the place, she would have taken me.

"I don't want to leave," I said, getting stubborn. The voice was silent for a while, so I thought I'd won that little argument.

" _Sure, go ahead and stay. But how long do you think it will last,"_ it eventually replied. _"Do you think the monsters out there will stay away forever? We've see them watching, waiting for a chance to jump in and attack."_

"Stop it," I said, covering my ears as if that would help.

" _They've learned too. They won't come one at a time, they'll all attack at once. You won't be able to dodge all their magic."_ The voice sounded more sinister with each word it spoke. _"That flimsy little door won't be enough to save you."_

"Shut up!" I cried out, burying my face in the bed and putting the pillow over my head.

" _Or maybe, they'll tell her what you did to their friends and family, how you turned them all into dust. Then you won't have a choice, she'll just throw you out. She wouldn't want a bad child, would she?"_ I could almost hear the smirk in the voice.

"Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" I shouted into the mattress, my hands and feet batting at the covers. I didn't want to hear it because deep down I knew it was right. I couldn't stay here forever, not after everything that happened.

" _Besides, if we're quick, she'll never know you were gone. We'll just slip out, head to the nearby town, see what's happened since I last checked, and come back. Do that, and I won't bother you with leaving again."_ It seemed determined to get me out, and I figured it wouldn't stop until I relented. So I did.

"Fine, we'll go, but just this one time," I said in a defeated tone. I rolled off the bed and headed out of my room to find Toriel. She was sitting on her chair reading a book.

"Mom, could we leave the ruins? Just for a little while?" I asked when I came up to her, hoping she would take me and the voice out safely.

"My child, why would we leave? Here, let me read this book for you instead. It's called '72 Uses for Snails.'" She smiled, but the smile seemed off, like she was nervous about something. I didn't want to be pestered by the voice more, so I continued.

"But Mom, I want to go out of the ruins." As I said that, her hand started to tremble as it rose to take off the glasses she wore. Setting them and the book down, she rose to her feet.

"...I have to do something. Stay here," she replied, then darted off to the next room.

" _Follow her."_ Before the voice finished, I was already doing so, worried for the woman who took me in. I entered the front room just in time to see the top of her head descending the staircase and hurried down too. At the bottom was a purple hallway, similar in color to the rest of the ruins, but smooth walled and well maintained. Toriel stopped and stood in the middle of it when she heard my footsteps approaching.

"You wish to know how to exit the ruins, do you not?" Even though she couldn't see me, I nodded at her question.

"Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground." Hold on, one way? Did that mean I couldn't return if I left?

"I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave here again. Now be a good child and go upstairs." With those last words she headed off again. This was wrong, all wrong. Toriel was starting to scare me with the talk about never letting me or anyone leave. Sure she took care of me, but it was bad to force someone to stay with you, wasn't it?

" _Stop her,"_ the voice said in my head. I didn't know how I'd do that, but I had to try something. I ran to catch up with her, seeing her stop again as I neared.

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die." All the care and affection in her voice was gone as she spoke.

" _Just how many have fallen? How many has she let die?"_ Trying to listen to two voices at once, I couldn't concentrate enough to get my own words out.

"You naive child...if you leave the Ruins...they...Asgore...will kill you." She practically spat that name, while the rest was stated flatly, as if it was any commonly known fact.

"I am only protecting you, do you understand...go to your room," she said as again she left down the hallway.

" _No, Da...Asgore wouldn't do that. She has to be wrong!"_ What had I done? Both Toriel and the voice were upset, all because of me. I had to make it right, so I tried to catch up to her again. I found her as I rounded a corner, apparently waiting for me.

"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning." As she left, a chill went down my spine. I'd heard someone talk in that tone only a few times, and each time I ran away because I knew it would be dangerous otherwise. But this was Toriel, my mom. She wouldn't do something bad to me, would she?

"You want to leave so badly? Hmph," Toriel said as I caught up to her. She stood in front of a large door that had the same odd symbol on it as her dress.

"You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself..." It felt like a rock dropped in my stomach when she said that, having a good idea what was about to happen.

"Prove to me you are strong enough to survive." She turned around as she finished speaking, flames coming from her hands while my soul popped out. This couldn't be happening. Toriel wouldn't attack me, she was supposed to protect me.

" _Toriel – ATK 80 DEF 80. Thinks she knows best for you."_ Those sounded like really high numbers, when before all the other monsters were lower.

Before I could make a move, flames shot up beside me while fire balls rained from Toriel, moving in a sideways pattern that made it hard to dodge. I was hit twice before she stopped. Unlike when she would light the fireplace with her magic, this time they actually burned, making me pat down my clothes to put them out.

"Mom, please. Stop fighting. You're hurting me!" I tried talking to her, showing my singed clothes and red spots from the attacks. She averted her eyes and sent another attack, this time getting a direct hit to my chest, the top of the flame getting in my face.

" _She wouldn't..."_ I didn't understand. She wouldn't what? I tried to think of something else to say, something to stop her, but I couldn't.

This time, two long streams of fire came from her hands, moving side to side and covering the whole room. It tried to move left and was hit. Tried to move right, hit again. By now I could feel the burns all over, much of my clothing blacked and charred. Somehow, I was still standing. However, the pain was making it hard to think. I opened my mouth to speak again, but...

Toriel swept her hands in a wide arc in front of her, causing lots of fireballs to appear in their wake. I tried to move, and made it past the first set, but was too slow. The second set crashed into me all at once. All I saw was fire, all I felt was burning, all I heard was a scream, or perhaps multiple screams, and then...

Blackness.

All around me, every which way I could think to look. Or perhaps I couldn't look anywhere. I didn't know what was going on. I felt so alone, so afraid.

" _She...she did it. She actually...killed you."_ The voice sounded shocked. I couldn't blame it, I was just as surprised.

"You cannot give up just yet..." came a deep, rumbling voice, sounding as if echoing through the void.

"Chara, stay determined!" I don't know who that was, nor whom it was talking about, since my name was Frisk. Suddenly, I saw two words in front of me.

"El, oh, ae, dee. Load? Ar, ee, es, ee, tee. Reset?" I did my best to sound them out, trying to figure out what they meant.

" _Press the first one so we can go back."_ Go back...I thought on that. If I stayed as I was, I'd just be floating in the darkness. If I went back, I'd be in the house, with the woman that murdered me. And what about the second word?

" _Both of those bring you back. The first one just to the house, the second to the time you first fell. You do want to go back because this nothing becomes overwhelming. Trust me."_ Trust. Could I trust the voice? It had helped me a lot in the ruins when I first fell so I could make it to Toriel, but it's also the reason she attacked me. Then again, it's not really the voice's fault she acted like that. I guess I did trust it, and it seemed like it was the only thing I could trust now.

I reached out with hands I couldn't see but somehow knew were there, and touched the word LOAD. The words faded, then suddenly the blackness was replaced by HOME in front of me. I looked around, everything exactly as it was. Stepping inside, I heard Toriel in the kitchen, making the day's breakfast. Maybe, if I was quick, I could escape before she noticed.

I ran off to the stairs directly across from me, taking two at a time. In hindsight that was a bad idea, since it was noisier. I made it a little ways into the hallway below when I heard footsteps rushing towards me. Looking back, I saw Toriel coming towards me. I was terrified she would start another fight and could feel myself trembling. Instead, she reached down and took my hand in hers.

"I think you should play upstairs instead," she said, not even a hint of anger or sadness in her voice. Once at the top of the stairs, she let my hand go and went back to the kitchen. I didn't get it, why didn't she try to attack me again?

" _She doesn't remember. Technically, there never was a fight, since you went back in time."_ If there never was a fight, then how could I remember?

" _It's weird wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff. Now though, she's going to be watching the stairway to make sure you don't go back down, so we'll have to make her go first again, just like last time."_ I didn't want to do things like last time, but I didn't want to stay here anymore either. I listlessly rubbed at a spot on my arm where a fireball had hit. The damage was no longer there, but I could still clearly remember it.

It took me a while to build up the courage, but I did as the voice suggested. I waited until Toriel was done making food, using that time to grab the plastic knife I'd found when I first fell as the stick had been tossed long ago. I asked her about leaving a couple times, she went downstairs to destroy the exit, and I followed. It was weird doing the same thing again, knowing what would happen. Although this time I was prepared.

"Prove to me you're strong enough to survive," she said again. This time, I knew what I had to do. That didn't mean it was easy though. She looked surprised at the plastic knife as I hit her with it, clearly not expecting me to have any kind of weapon. Now that I was using it, I could feel that it was well made, with a heavy, hard plastic.

She used the same attacks again, making it easier to move out of the way of the fires. Even so, I couldn't dodge all of them, and got hit a couple times, burning my shirt and arm. I tried holding back my attacks, not wanting to seriously hurt her, just trying to show that I was strong enough. However, it felt like each hit hurt her more and more, and each swing of mine hit harder.

" _She was supposed to help you,"_ the voice said as I tried to dodge a series of zigzagging flames.

" _She was supposed to protect you,"_ it said while I caught my breath and moved in for another hit.

" _SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BETTER THAN THEM!"_ It shouted this as I brought by arm up, then it felt like a hand grabbing my own and swinging with me, making me hit her harder than I wanted to. Even though it was plastic, the knife sliced right through the dress she wore and into her, showing off a bright red streak across her middle.

I gasped and stepped back as Toriel dropped to one knee in front of me, clutching at the wound. Even though she'd killed be last time, I hadn't wanted to do the same to her. My hands trembled, losing their grasp on the plastic knife which dropped to the floor with a light thunk.

"Urgh..." she groaned out. "You are stronger than I thought..." Each word sounded like it was painful for her to say, taking each syllable slowly.

"Listen to me, small one..." I inched closer, trying to hear her over the pounding of my heart in my ears.

"If you go beyond this door, keep walking as far as you can. Eventually you will reach an exit." There...there was an exit? A way out of the mountain? I wiped my arm over my eyes, which were now steadily starting to leak.

"Asgore..." She could barely talk anymore, and I was right in front of her, straining to hear her. "Do not let Asgore take your soul. His plan cannot be allowed to succeed." Her face contorted in pain after saying that. I couldn't help it and put my hands on her face, holding I could hold her together, keep her with me.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She just smiled softly and put one of her large fuzzy hands on mine.

"Be good, won't you my child?" She barely got the last word out before she disappeared, turning to dust in my hands. All that was left was a little white upside down heart, but it broke and shattered before I could bring myself to do anything.

I screamed, I cried, I cursed and apologized and begged to anyone and anything to not let this be real, to let me wake up from a bad nightmare. I couldn't see anymore between the tears and dust in my eyes, so I just sat there in front of Toriel's clothes, wishing I could've done something, anything to stop what happened.

In the middle of it all, I remembered what happened when I died and how I could go back and fix things. I tried to concentrate, but I couldn't yet. Apparently the voice knew what I was trying to do.

" _It won't work,"_ it said emotionlessly. Stubbornly, I kept trying.

" _I'm telling you, it won't work! If you go back, she might not remember what happened, but she'll somehow **know**. You'll never be able to get here without her knowing, and you'll never be able to stop her from fighting you. This...this is the only way to get you out. To keep you safe."_

"No, she...she was keeping me safe."

" _For how long? Those other monsters were watching. They were going to come sometime when she wasn't around. Besides, she's the one that killed you. She deserved this."_ I couldn't really say anything, because someplace inside me I believed it. She HAD attacked, and even killed me. I'd fought and killed the other monsters when they tried, so Toriel wasn't any different in that regard.

" _She was just like the other monsters. She attacked an innocent child and payed for it. The best thing to do is keep moving. She said there's an exit, which would be at the end of the mountain caves. Da...Asgore is probably there."_

I had calmed down, at least enough to think clearly, and the voice was probably right. If I went back, this would just happen again. Toriel would catch me, start a fight, and I'd end up having to kill her. I couldn't handle going through that again. So, with a deep stuttering breath, I stood up.

"Okay. Let's...let's just go please. I don't like it here any more." I started walking, picking up the toy knife while stepping well aside of Toriel's remains, and passed through the door. Beyond was a long hallway which seemed to get brighter and brighter as I went, until I passed by two large columns. This opened up into a larger room, where in the middle was a familiar smiling flower.

"Hee hee hee..." Its laugh was unsettling, like it had a dark secret.

"I hope you like your choice. After all, it's not as if you can go back and change fate." Wait, did it...did it know what I could do? Was it watching me?

" _Stay focused, don't let it surprise attack you again."_ Right, I had to pay attention.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed. That old hag thought she could break the rules. She tried so hard to save you humans. But when it came down to it..." So there were more before I fell.

"Hee hee...She couldn't even save herself. What an idiot!" Flowey laughed like it had when it first tried to kill me, so I stood ready, watching for any tricks. Instead, it just disappeared under the ground. I waited a bit to see if it would return, but there was nothing. I cautiously walked past the spot to the other end of the room where another large door was shut tight.

I put my hand on the door, but didn't push. Instead, I paused and thought of everything that had happened. My hands balled into fists thinking about falling down the mountain, having to fight for my life, then spending so long with someone that made me feel safe, only for her to then try, and succeed at, killing me. Was I not allowed to be happy? Was my whole life supposed to be spent on the run, fighting to survive against people and creatures that would be happier with me dead?

" _We're the same, you know?"_ The voice said softly. I felt pressure on a shoulder, like a hand resting on it. _"We're both here by accident, we've both been betrayed by people we thought we could trust. But don't worry, I'm here for you. I'll do everything I can to get you out of here, even if it means killing every last monster in your way. If there's anything you can really trust, it's that."_

"W...what are you? You're not just a voice, are you?" I may have been stupid, but even I could tell something was up. It was something I asked many times before, and never got an answer. Now though, I felt like I deserved one.

" _No. I'm closer to a spirit, or ghost, I suppose. However, this isn't really the time or place to discuss it. There's a town up ahead where we might find someplace relatively safe to stay. If we do, I'll tell you more."_

"Promise?" I asked, even though I wasn't sure how I could make a ghost keep a promise.

" _Promise."_ Well, that would have to be good enough.

With one more deep breath, I lifted my head and put both hands on the door. It was old and seemed like it hadn't moved in a long time, but with enough force it began to open. Then, with a metallic whine, it opened fully and I was blinded by a bright light.

" _It's the start of a new adventure, partner."_


	4. Chapter 4

**The ruins have opened, and Frisk is setting out on the main part of the story for the first time. How will they choose to interact with the various monsters they meet, and how will they react to two crazy skeletons?**

 **There's only a little combat in this one, as Sans and Papyrus take up most of the time for now.**

 **dream1990: Hope you like this one too.**

 **Drivingmaster19: Glad you feel like the wait is worth it, and I'm going to try to get both stories out faster, but can't really promise much.**

There were two things I was aware of when the doors out of the ruins opened.

First was the blinding light. Being inside a dimly lit cavern for a month meant anything brighter than a candle was enough to make me squint. Well, squint more than usual.

Second was the cold. Those doors must have been weatherproof, because there wasn't even a chilly draft that came through them before.

As my eyes adjusted, I looked up and was in awe. Somehow, inside a mountain, there was an entire snowy forest. I took a step out of the doorway, looking all around at the tall trees and powdery snow, my shoe making a light crunch on the pathway leading straight ahead.

" _Don't get distracted, there could be dangerous monsters around."_

The voice was right, I had to stay focused. I couldn't be caught off guard again, unless I wanted to get a surprise attack. I walked along, continuously glancing every which way, realizing that with the tall trees and silence, it was actually pretty eerie. The trees were so close together, it would have been difficult to walk between them, so I kept going straight along the pathway. Along the way, I had to step over a large branch that had fallen across the clearing.

" _It's a tough-looking branch."_ I bent down and grabbed it by one of the ends and lifted, but the branch was too heavy to pick up, so I left it there and walked on. I hadn't gone far when I heard a loud crack behind me, nearly making me jump out of my own skin. Looking back, I saw that something had made the branch break into a few large pieces.

" _We need to go, quickly!"_ I wholeheartedly agreed and turned back around, walking faster than before. Soon after, I swore I heard footsteps behind me, but when I whirled around, no one was there.

"H-Hello?" I called out, hearing nothing but my own echo amongst the trees. I clutched the plastic knife tighter, spinning back around and running down the trail. It wasn't long before I came to a gap with a wooden bridge, and some kind of wooden thing over it. I thought maybe it was some kind of art piece, but didn't want to stop and look at it too much. However, my body seemed to have other ideas as I found myself unable to move any further and feeling heavier somehow.

" _Hey, what's the holdup?"_ The voice asked, but before I could answer I heard the sound of footsteps again. They grew closer, and closer, sounding like they were right behind me when they stopped.

"Human." Said a voice behind me. My heart felt like it was going to beat itself out of my chest, and I felt cold all over, and not just from the frigid air. However, the feeling that I was being weighed down wasn't there anymore, but I couldn't find the will to move.

"Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand." I took a deep breath and did as this new person said, turning slowly. Once I was fully facing them, they stuck out their arm, though I could barely see them as they were in the shadows of the trees. Cautiously, I stuck out my own hand, clasped it to theirs, and...

 _Phhhhhhhhht_

The noise was so unexpected given the scenario that I couldn't help but laugh, feeling some of the tension leaving my body. The voice in my head had started laughing too, but it didn't sound like happy laughter.

"heheh...the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny," the monster said, taking his hand away. He had moved into better lighting, allowing me to get a good look at him. To my surprise, it was a skeleton, just a little taller than me but more round. Instead of eyes, there were two little white lights in his eye holes, and he wore a blue jacket with a white shirt underneath and black shorts with pink slippers. It was an odd combination to say the least.

"anyways, you're a human, right?" At his question, I gave a nod and a little 'uh huh.'

"that's hilarious. i'm sans. sans the skeleton."

" _No, I thought you were a cat,"_ the voice said sarcastically.

"i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now, but...y'know...i don't really care about capturing anybody." That was a relief. Last thing I wanted to do after...fighting Toriel was to immediately get into another one. I was about to tell him thank you when...

"now my brother, papyrus...he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Ok, that wasn't so good.

"hey, actually, I think that's him over there." And that was even less so. Looking back, I saw no one, but I couldn't be a hundred percent sure Sans was lying. When I looked back to him, I could see him kind of staring at my face.

"i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." I hurriedly did as Sans suggested, hoping his idea would keep me away from his brother and other monsters. I could hear him right behind me, and he had me stop at a spot that widened out.

"quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp." Wait, was that his whole idea? Hide me behind a small lamp? I didn't have time to question it though, as now I could hear snow crunching up ahead. I took position behind the lamp just as a larger monster ran into the clearing.

"sup, bro?" Sans said to another skeleton monster, this one almost twice as tall and wearing some kind of red and white outfit, complete with boots, gloves, and even a cape. I could barely see him while behind the lamp, able to just peek out a little.

"YOU KNOW WHAT SUP, BROTHER!" Oh, this new guy was loud. I was tempted to cover my ears, but I didn't want to move and draw his attention.

"IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T. RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"staring at this lamp. it's really cool. do you wanna look?" Wait, was Sans talking about...

" _That idiot is trying to get us caught. Frisk, get ready for a fight."_ My grip tightened on the handle of the plastic knife, just waiting for Papyrus to walk over and...

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE, I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS..."

" _Wow, egotistical much?"_ Ego-what? I wished the voice...spirit...thing would say things I could actually understand.

"WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT...RECOGNITION...I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, FRIEND? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

Is that what actually happens down here?

" _Not in the slightest. This bonehead is just an idiot."_

"hmm...maybe this lamp will help you." Why was he trying to get me caught if he hid me in the first place?

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE!" Now that was a word I'd never heard before.

" _I'll be honest, I haven't either."_

"YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!" Papyrus seemed to be getting really angry. I wondered if we were about to see two monsters fight each other.

"hey, take it easy. i've gotten a **ton** of work done today. a skele- **ton**." He then turned toward me and somehow gave a wink. I almost missed it trying to hold back a giggle, while the voice just groaned.

"SANS!" Papyrus yelled out, obviously annoyed.

"come on. you're smiling." It was true, Papyrus did have a grin. Though that was probably because he was a skeleton.

"I AM AND I HATE IT. SIGH..." He didn't actually sigh, he just said the word? He was really odd.

"WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION?"

"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself..."

" _Oh no, not another one."_

"down to the bone." The voice groaned so loud I thought the two monsters would hear it, if not for the little noise coming from me as I was losing the battle to not laugh. Sans again gave me a wink, his grin seeming to grow as he saw me almost laugh.

"UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES...AS FOR YOUR WORK...PUT A LITTLE MORE... **BACKBONE** INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"With that, Papyrus ran off the way he came. I'll admit, his joke wasn't as good, but still made me smile. I was about to walk out when Papyrus walked back and gave one last "HEH," then took off more slowly. I waited a bit to see if he would return again.

"ok, you can come out now," Sans said, giving me an opportunity to stretch and loosen up before heading back from behind the lamp.

"you oughta get going, he might come back. and if he does...you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes."

" _NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"_ The voice continuously yelled out, making it hard to think for myself. I figured a couple jokes weren't worth a headache, even if it did distract from thinking about Toriel.

"See you later, Mr. Sans," I said, walking of the same way Papyrus did, seeing as that was the only way to go. However, just before leaving the clearing, I heard Sans clear his throat...somehow.

"actually, hey...hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor?" As he asked, I turned around so we could properly talk, like I'd been taught.

"i was thinking...my brother's been kind of down lately. He's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day."

" _That is a really bad idea."_ I agreed, and opened my mouth to let Sans know, but he seemed to know I was going to object because he continued talking before I could.

"don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be." That just made it sound like he was dangerous.

"thanks a million. i'll be up ahead." With that, he turned and walked the other way, making me wonder how he could be ahead if he went away from where ahead would be. I shrugged my shoulders and went on, coming to a fork in the path. There was another star thing nearby, so I made sure to save again. Before hitting save though, I looked at the larger part that came up too.

"C-h-a-r-a...L-V-Three...um, numbers...R-u-i-n-s, H-o-m-e." Okay, I thought I got it. That was from last time I saved, I was in the ruins of Home before Toriel...no, don't think of that. I hit the save button and looked to see how the stuff changed.

"C-h-a-r-a...L-V-Four...bigger numbers...S-n-o-w-d-i-n, B-o-x-R-o-a-d." Now I must be somewhere called Box Road in Snowdin, if I was reading it right, and I had a Love of 4. The only things I wasn't sure on was the numbers, because those where higher than I was taught, and the first word.

"What's C-h-a-r-a?" I asked the voice. It didn't respond at first, so I thought maybe it wasn't going to answer. However, it spoke up just as I was about to set off.

" _It's a name."_ Okay, well that didn't tell me much.

"Oh, who's name is it? Why isn't it my name?"

" _I'll explain when we get to the town."_ It didn't seem much for conversation at the moment, so I let it be. There was a box in the area too, so I went to check it out. There was a sign next to it, so I tried to read it.

"T-h-i-s, i-s, a, b-o-x. Y-o-u..."

" _Ugh, I'll read it,"_ The voice interrupted, apparently annoyed at how slow I was at reading. _"This is a box. You can put an item inside or take an item out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover."_

"I would have read it." I said with a huff, kind of miffed that the voice wouldn't let me do it myself. I opened he box, and inside was a pink glove. Looking around to make sure no one saw, I grabbed it and put it on my hand. It felt much warmer, and felt sturdy enough that I could hit something without it hurting my hand, which was good because I couldn't really hold onto the knife while wearing it.

" _We don't have time to sit and wait for you to slowly read stuff. There could be more sentries looking for a human. For now, just put the knife in the box and let's go."_ I begrudgingly did as the voice said to, leaving the plastic knife in the box. As I turned around to leave, I jumped in fright as a strange bird monster stood there, looking at me. Suddenly, my soul popped out as the bird came closer.

" _Snowdrake flutters forth,"_ said the voice. _"6 ATK, 2 DEF. Bet this teen comedian fights to keep a captive audience."_

"Better not snow'flake' out," he said, causing another loud groan from the voice.

" _He's even worse than the skeleton!"_ It yelled as a bunch of magic ice cubes came from all directions. It must have been part of his joke, since it had to do with ice, but it wasn't funny at all. The magic was easy enough to dodge, just had to sidestep one cube.

"Boo, that was bad," I said with a grimace and a thumbs down. Snowdrake ruffled his feathers and glared at me.

"Hey, ice puns are 'snow' problem," it retorted, smiling at it's own joke. This time, the magic ice moved in straight lines, meaning I only had to step back and forth a bit.

"Jeez, you are really bad at making jokes," I said without so much as a smile. That seemed to get him even angrier.

"Yeah, well this won't be funny either!" With that, more ice than before was thrown around. I don't think he could really control it that well though, since most of it when around me. Between the 'jokes' and the fighting, I was actually getting bored.

"Your attacks are even worse than your puns somehow." This caused the monster to stomp its little feet.

"Is your flesh as rotten as you?" It squawked out, as more ice went mostly past me, with just a couple steps needed to avoid some of them.

"Ugh, if even I hate your jokes, then I bet everyone does. No one's going to listen to them at this rate." That seemed to hit a sore spot in Snowdrake, as it sputtered a little, before seeming to deflate and walk away. I kind of felt bad for it.

" _It deserves it for thinking those jokes are any good, and for trying to attack you. Besides, it'll be fine. Will probably just go home and mope for a while."_

I sighed, hoping that was the case as I headed down one of the paths. The sound of water greeted me in a little clearing, where a river cut through two small cliffs. There was a fishing pole with a line in the water off to the side. Curious, I reeled it in, and on the hook was a photo of a weird-looking monster with a note.

"C-a-l-l, m-e! H-e-r-e-'s, m-y, n-u-m-b-e-r!" I decided not to call, and just put the picture back in the water.

I headed back the way I came and passed the box, going the way Papyrus went. Speaking of which, after a bit I saw him and Sans talking in the middle of the path.

"How did he get there first?" I asked softly.

" _He probably got there when you were either fighting or looking at that picture,"_ the voice suggested, which made sense. I took a deep breath and stood up straight as I approached the two.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE," Papyrus said loudly. If I was going to see more of him, I'd have to look for some earplugs. He must've heard me walking, because he suddenly stopped talking and turned towards me. When he turned to look at Sans, the shorter skeleton had turned toward me. They went back and forth like that, soon spinning wildly in place, until they were both looking at me, then they turned around and leaned in closer to each other.

"SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT...A HUMAN!?" If he was trying to be quiet, it wasn't working at all. I wasn't sure if he could even do quiet. They both turned back around together.

"uh...actually, i think that's a rock." Looking behind me, there was indeed a rock in the path that I somehow missed seeing before. For some reason, Papyrus turned towards Sans with a dejected "OH."

"hey, what's that in front of the rock?" He asked his brother. And there I was thinking I would be off scott free.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus yelled out again. "IS...IS THAT A HUMAN?" This time his voice was lower, but not much.

"yes," replied Sans, also talking lower but still loud enough that I could hear.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL...I'M GONNA...I'LL BE SO...POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" I couldn't help but giggle at their antics, especially Papyrus's. His enthusiasm was very infectious.

"...AHEM. HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!" My eyes widened and I planted one foot back a bit, balling my gloved hand into a fist, getting ready for the tall skeleton to attack.

"I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN...THEN!" He said while I was getting ready, seemingly oblivious to my change in stance. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE...ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" His laugh slowly faded as he ran off further down the pathway. A little confused, I stood back up normally, scratching my head.

" _Well that was...different. Never met a monster quite that...energetic before."_ The voice sounded equally as confused as me for once.

"well, that went well," I heard Sans say as he turned to look at me. "don't sweat it, kid. i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." With that, Sans went off after his brother, leaving me and the voice alone.

"What do you think will happen?" I asked, worried about what that odd skeleton could have in store.

" _Honestly, I don't know. Just be ready for anything, and I'll do what I can to help,"_ it said. That wasn't too reassuring, but at least it seemed like Sans might help a bit too, though it was hard to know if he was actually being nice, or just pretending to. Either way, I went back to the star to save again, because if I came back I didn't want to have to listen to all of that again.

" _The thought of getting past whatever the skeletons have in store fills you with determination."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 has arrived! I wasn't really sure how to end this one, but think it came out okay. I limited the fighting a bit to keep the story going, so I'll make up for that in the next one.**

 **Drivingmaster19: I haven't fully committed to what will happen to Papyrus this run, still waffling between two scenarios.**

* * *

" _You observe the well-crafted sentry station. Who could have built this, you ponder... I bet it was that very famous royal guardsman! Note: not yet a very famous royal guardsman."_ I listened as the voice read out the writing on the cardboard box in the next clearing after I had trouble with the second word. I actually did wonder who would make a box like this, and why they would write all over it.

" _Come on, it's pretty obvious who threw this ramshackle thing together,"_ the voice said. I didn't say anything, and tried not to think about it so they couldn't hear my thoughts on it. Instead, I turned around into the clearing the skeleton brothers had been in front of a bit ago and headed off to the left, following the pair. As I rounded some trees, I bumped into something going the opposite way. As I got up, my soul popped out and I saw a strange monster with ice on its head walking closer.

" _Ice Cap struts into view."_ Cap? I wondered why it wasn't named Ice Hat.

"Your head looks so...NAKED!" Ice Cap said loudly with a look of disgust. Suddenly, what looked like a hat made of snow appeared from the ground, but the top was missing. I was caught off guard when a large chunk of ice shot out from it and slammed into my chest, knocking the air out of me and sending me rolling across the snow. Looking up, I saw another fly by me, then turn around and go back into the snow hat before yet another one popped up beside me. I scrambled to get up and out of the way, narrowly dodging another ice attack.

A few more ice attacks and I was in the clear, the Ice Cap seemingly taking a breather from using magic. I used this time to throw a right hook to its face, getting it right on the cheek with my new glove cushioning the blow to my hand. It was obvious that it didn't do the same for the monster, the big-headed creature getting knocked back.

"What is your problem with me?" I yelled at Ice Cap, wondering why it was even trying to attack me.

"I just looove my hat, okay," came its reply, along with two waves of ice on either side of it. I had to dart side to side to avoid the attack, but came out unscathed this time.

" _Its hat is loose,"_ the voice said, and indeed Ice Cap's hat was tilted to the side. Annoyed by this thing attack me just because I didn't have a hat, I ran up to it and, instead of attacking it, I snatched the hat off its head. Although it melting right away in my hands was odd, the stranger part was that Ice Cap immediately turned into a block of ice itself.

"I...I..." the Ice Block said, stammering out and sounding much less confident.

" _Wow, how pathetic. Just end the fight so we can continue,"_ I heard the voice say. I nodded and stepped up to the Ice Block, wanting to try something I'd seen before. I held my hand flat with my pinky down, brought it up slowly, then chopped down hard and fast. As my hand made contact, I heard a crack and pain came from my hand, making me fear I'd broken my hand. Fortunately, it just stung while the Ice Block itself had cracked all over, then it crumbled into dust. I wouldn't be trying that move again any time soon.

After a short stretch I reached another station, this one with a sign in front of it.

" _Absolutely NO MOVING!,"_ the voice read for me, making sure to emphasize where needed, even if not wanted. It was odd having words shouted inside my own head, but it got the message across. I held my breath and stood absolutely still, doing my best to not let a single muscle move.

" _Um...what are you doing?"_

Not moving, I thought.

" _No, it didn't mean...it's talking about...ugh, just go up to that station ahead, you'll see."_ I went with it, not having much choice other than continue standing there. As I neared the little wooden hut I heard a noise and stopped, soon seeing a dog's head coming up into view.

"Did something move? Was it my imagination?"Couldn't it see me? I was standing right there, but its eyes were shifting side to side.

"I can only see moving things." Wha...how did that work?

"If something was moving...for example, a human..." Oh, I did not like where this was going.

"I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!" With that, the dog monster jumped over the counter on its station and my soul popped out. The dog was dressed in the oddest clothing: yellow pants with brown spots, a pink sleeveless shirt with a dog face on it, and two short swords.

" _Doggo, easily excited by movement. Hobbies include: squirrels."_ Well that was helpful, I thought sarcastically.

"Don't move an inch," Doggo said before moving his sword slowly through the air towards me, the blade seeming to glow blue.

" _Do what he says and stay still."_ This went against everything I'd learned back on the surface. When someone pulls out a weapon, you run or you die, and now I was supposed to just let a monster cut me. I backed up while its eyes were turned a bit away, but ran into a tree, and he was now looking in my direction with the sword almost on me. I felt me legs tense up, ready to spring me away.

" _Frisk, don't! You have to stay still!"_ The voice was shouting in my head, but I barely heard it as my eyes were fixed on the sword, now within arms length. My whole body was screaming at me to run, but the voice hadn't lied to me before. The blade moved closer, now within inches of me.

" _Stay put!"_ The voice gave one last plea, and while I wanted to run, or dodge, or anything else, I grit my teeth and looked away as the monster sliced at me with its sword and...I felt nothing. No cut, no pain, nor dripping blood. When I looked back, I saw I didn't have a single scratch on me at all. Checking the monster, I saw that it didn't look as ready to fight as before.

" _Doggo can't seem to find anything. Now's the perfect chance to attack."_ I couldn't risk the dog attacking again without the blue magic, so I balled my gloved fist up tight, bounded from the tree, and struck at his chest. He gave a loud bark as he stumbled back, obviously very hurt.

"Something moved! And it hurts!" Doggo said as he swept his sword again, still with the blue magic. This time I watched it go right through me without doing any damage. His face was filled with confusion, but that went away after I punched him because he then turned to dust, the swords and outfit clattering to the icy ground. Something yellow fell from his pockets, and it turned out to be more coins which I quickly took before moving on.

" _Someone's been smoking dog treats,"_ the voice said, and when I looked down I did see some burned dog biscuits along the pathway. As I walked, I was shivering. I told myself I was just the cold, but I knew it was also because of the last fight. I kept thinking about that sword coming closer, and what would've happened if it hadn't been magic.

"hey," came a voice, startling me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Sans standing against a tree, hands in his jacket pockets, at the beginning of a large clearing.

"here's something important to remember. my brother has a very special attack. if you see a blue attack, don't move and it won't hurt you."

" _THAT WOULD'VE BEEN HELPFUL BEFORE THE LAST FIGHT YOU SMILING TRASHBAG!"_ The shouting in my head made me flinch again, and perhaps Sans thought I wasn't getting what he meant because he continued.

"here's an easy way to keep it in mind. imagine a stop sign. when you see a stop sign, you stop, right?" Made sense to me, so I nodded.

"stop signs are red, so imagine a blue stop sign instead. simple, right? when fighting, think about blue stop signs."

"Ok, I will. Thank you," I replied before turning away, making my way into the clearing.

"remember...blue stop signs," he called out after me, though didn't follow. I looked back as he said that, so I didn't notice the show turn to ice until I was sliding across it, wobbling and flailing to not fall. I soon made it across just fine, only to fall at the bank and into a snow pile. I heard laughter inside my head and gave a groan as I got up, brushing off the snow from my clothes before it made me even colder while frowning.

" _Don't be such a crybaby. That was funny,"_ the voice said, though I didn't see the humor in almost getting more hurt. Fortunately the path continued from there, so forward I pressed. After a small bit of trees, I once again came to a clearing. There was a large square where the snow had been cleared away, and on the other side was Papyrus and...Sans? How did he get here so fast?

"YOU'RE SO LAZY!" Papyrus shouted at his brother. "YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!"

"i think that's called...sleeping," Sans replied. Did Papyrus not sleep? Did skeletons even need to sleep?

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!" Papyrus' shouting broke my my train of thought. It was then they turned and noticed me.

"OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!" It was a little awkward just being called 'human' all the time, but I hadn't really had a chance to tell them my name.

"IN ORDER TO STOP YOU...MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!" At least it wasn't another fight. If they were anything like the puzzles in the ruins, this wouldn't be too bad.

"I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE...QUITE SHOCKING!" I heard a groan in my head, but I'm not sure what for. "FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE...ELECTRICITY MAZE!" Oh, now I got it...I think. Anyway, I didn't see how it was a maze since there were no walls or anything. Maybe it had to do with that in-vis-i-ble word Papyrus said.

"WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP!" With that, he pulled out a blue ball from...somewhere in his costume and held it out so I could see it.

"SOUND LIKE FUN? BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK. OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW." I wondered how the ball could zap me from way over there, but I didn't have much of a choice other than moving into the maze, so I took a step forward. Suddenly I heard a loud zap come from the other side, and Papyrus looked like he was in pain. When it stopped, Papyrus started to stomp on the ground.

"SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"i think the human has to hold the orb."

"OH, OKAY," Papyrus yelled before walking down and around before going into the maze. The snow from his boots left a spot for every step he took, making it easy to see where the safe spots were. When he got in front of me, he held out the orb.

"HOLD THIS PLEASE!" He yelled, and then threw the orb into the air before racing back through the maze. The ball came down right on my head, but thankfully it seemed soft and didn't hurt at all. Once Papyrus was on the other side again, he turned towards me.

"OKAY, TRY NOW!" At that, I walked through the maze, making sure to stay on the same path he took. Once I got to the other side, Papyrus was looking at me with an open mouth.

"INCREDIBLE! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY...TOO EASILY!" I would've been flattered had he not given the answer away.

"HOWEVER! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" With his speech finished, Papyrus left the clearing...by sliding backwards really quickly. The orb on my head seemed to crumble apart, seemingly made of nothing but snow somehow.

"hey, thanks...my brother seems like he's having fun," Sans said once Papyrus left.

" _At least someone is,"_ retorted the voice.

"by the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing? we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn't worn anything else since...keeps calling it his 'battle body.' man. isn't my brother cool?" I wasn't really sure how to answer that. Sure the outfit was okay, but I don't know if I would really call it 'cool.' I just gave an awkward shrug and moved on.

The next clearing in the path was split into two parts, separated by a thin but deep gap with a bridge between the two. There was a tall blue rabbit monster standing next to what looked like a hot dog cart. The monster was muttering something while its eyes were closed, which meant the food wasn't being watched. If I was quick enough, I could sneak in, grab a few, and get out without being noticed, just like I'd done on the surface before.

"I don't understand why these aren't selling..." the rabbit said to himself as I got closer. "It's the perfect weather for something cold..." I was just reaching up to put my hand in the cart when he opened up one of his eyes and saw me. I stopped in place, wide eyed, knowing I'd been caught. I expected my soul to pop out, but instead his ears perked up and he got a smile on his face.

"OH! A CUSTOMER!" I tried to force myself to smile back as he said that. "Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 15G!"

"Uh, s-sure. Umm..." I went digging through my pockets for the coins I'd found, trying to count them out. I was a little better thanks to Toriel's teachings, but it was still difficult. Thankfully the rabbit didn't seem to mind waiting patiently, and only put his hand out when I was ready to pay. After the coins clinked in his larger hand, he put them away and reached inside the cart, grabbing a green ice thing with a stick in it.

"Here you go! Have a super-duper day!" He said as he handed it to me. I took it and hurried off across the bridge, thankful I hadn't been caught trying to take one. I put it in my mouth and it started to dissolve while melting, which was a strange sensation. I could also feel my chest feeling better where the ice had hit me before.

Focusing on where I was going now, I saw a large section of the next clearing had been cleared away, with a large snowball close to me. Walking to the end of the cleared portion, there was a hole in the ground on one side and ice on the other.

" _It's a game. All you have to do is hit the snowball into the hole,"_ instructed the voice, and that sounded easy enough. I headed back to the snowball and gave it a kick, sending it rolling and bumping into one of the sides before it stopped. As I was walking back over to it, I noticed snow crumbling off it, making it shrink. I hurried up to it and kicked it again, but it bounced all over the place and didn't get much farther. A few more tries like that and the ball completely disintegrated.

After watching that happen. I had to try again. And I did, only to get a little further but learning how to kick it so it went where I wanted. Again and again I played, running out of breath and sweating despite the cold. Finally on what felt like my tenth attempt, I was next to the hole and gave the ball one last solid kick before it could fall apart, knocking it into the hole with a small cheer from myself. To my surprise, a purple flag popped out along with a couple of coins. There was also some writing on the pole.

" _Even when you felt trapped, you took notes and achieved the end of 'Ball,'"_ the voice read for me, even though I wanted to read it since I'm the one that got it. Instead of arguing though, I just took the coins. Now that I was done with the game, I looked around and saw there were two ways to go, one where I was and one back a ways along the game course. I was kind of startled to see Sans at the other exit, not knowing how long he had been there and wondering why I hadn't noticed him before. A little creeped out, I decided to just continue through the path where I was.

The path turned out to be on a small cliff, and ahead of me was Papyrus and...Sans? I wracked my brain trying to think of how he could've gotten there before me, when I just saw him so far away.

"How do you think he got here so fast?" I asked quietly so the two skeletons wouldn't hear.

" _At this point, I'm not sure. He's probably using some kind of magic though,"_ came the reply. I supposed magic could do a lot of stuff I didn't know about. Question somewhat answered, I stepped forward. After a few, they must have heard my shoes crunching the snow because they both turned to look at me.

"HUMAN!" I winced at Papyrus' voice, thinking that I could've heard that back at the beginning of the Ruins.

"I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR..." he began, but then stopped and looked around. "SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!"

"it's right there. on the ground," his brother replied. Between me and them was a small area cleared of snow and a piece of paper laying there. "trust me, there's no way they can get past this one."

I approached the paper, expecting to be shocked, or attacked, or something, but nothing at all happened. Picking up the paper, I looked it over.

"M-o-n-s-t-e-r, K-i-d-z, W-o-r-d, S-e-a-r-c-h," I read out loud slowly, making sure I had it right. The words were at the bottom, but looking at the puzzle just made my head spin, so I just put the paper back down without trying it, instead walking to the end of the moved snow.

"SANS! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Papyrus chastised his brother.

"whoops. i knew i should have used today's crossword instead," Sans replied, not sounding too disappointed.

"WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!" Papyrus exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "IN MY OPINION...JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST." With that, he crossed his arms in front of him.

"what? really dude? that easy-peasy word scramble?" Sans had a look of disbelief, as though Papyrus had said the jacket was red. "that's for baby bones."

"UN. BELIEVABLE." Papyrus said with an exasperated sigh. "HUMAN! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!" He pointed at me quickly, making me jump back a little. I honestly had no idea what they were talking about either way.

"Uh...um...the crossword?" I said hesitantly.

"YOU TWO ARE WEIRD!" Papyrus exclaimed right after me. "CROSSWORDS ARE SO EASY. IT'S THE SAME SOLUTION EVERY TIME. I JUST FILL ALL THE BOXESIN WITH THE LETTER 'Z,' BECAUSE EVERY TIME I LOOK AT A CROSSWORD ALL I CAN DO IS SNORE!" With that, Papyrus laughed at himself, then turned and ran off.

"papyrus..." Sans said with a shake of his head. "...finds difficulty in interesting places. yesterday he got stumped trying to 'solve' the horoscope." I wasn't sure what that was either, so I just gave a little "Oh," and did the only thing I could do, kept going.

I ended up next to another cliff, where two tables had been put out along with a plate of what looked like noodles and a microwave, along with another star in front of them. There was also a note on the ground, which I picked up to read.

 _HUMAN! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI. (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU! YOU'LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT THAT YOU WON'T REALIZE THAT YOU AREN'T PROGRESSING! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!) NYEH HEH HEH, PAPYRUS_

" _Well, that's stupid, writing out what your trap is, even if it's a stupid trap like that,"_ the voice piped up. I didn't really listen, as I was too busy going to the plate. I hadn't finished lunch earlier, and was getting pretty hungry now. I tried to lift it up, but the plate was stuck to the table, as was the fork beside it. The noodles themselves were frozen to the plate and each other. I pouted, now having to go a while longer without eating because I couldn't even get the plate into the microwave to warm it up. I at least knew how to do that since it was the only way I had to eat sometimes on the surface.

Across from the plate and on the bottom of the other cliff, I noticed a small hole. When I moved to it and leaned down, I heard a squeak from inside it. It must have been another mouse, like in the Ruins with the cheese. Maybe, I thought, if the mouse was a monster and not a normal one, it could someday figure out how to heat up the spaghetti for a meal. With nothing else to do, I touched the star and 'saved' again, then sat down with my back to the cliff to rest a bit.

" _Don't get too comfortable partner, we don't want you to become a Frisk-cicle. You're about halfway there, so make sure you're ready for plenty more walking."_ Gee, like I hadn't done enough of that. I stretched my limbs, figuring if I only had a little bit of time to rest, I would make the best of it. I swear I heard the snow crunch next to me a bit, like someone sitting down beside me.

" _Before the end of the day, you'll have a nice meal, a warm bed, and some bad company, I promise you that."_


	6. Chapter 6

**Welcome to chapter 6! This one was a bit difficult to work on. Not because of the material or length, but because I am in the process of moving. Not easy finding free time between that, work, the holidays, and general life stuff.**

 **But enough excuses. We'll watch as Frisk makes it the rest of the way through the forest and into town. They'll be fighting monsters, the cold, and their own conscience. It's a bit of a longer chapter since I wanted to end the forest area in this one, but I still think it flows pretty well.**

 **Drivingmaster19: Indeed, and things will only get worse before they get better...if they even can.**

* * *

"W-a-r-n-i-n-g, D-o-g, M-a-r-r-i-a-g-e. What's marriage?" I asked the voice in my head after reading the sign, looking around at the area. It looked like I was above the forest on some cliffs now with two ways to go. Straight ahead ended pretty quickly, while the right seemed to have a way to continue.

" _What kind of life did you have where you don't even know what marriage is?"_ The voice said, sounding more surprised than anything. _"Marriage is when two people in love say they'll spend forever together. Of course, most people don't stick to it."_ That's probably why I never heard of it. He never loved anyone that I knew of...

I started heading towards the south path when all of a sudden I heard a bark, and a white dog in what looked like armor came bounding towards me on its back legs. One front paw held a giant shield as big as its whole body, while the other held a sword. The monster looked at me, panting and smiling. It must have been glad to see a human it could take the soul of, as mine popped out and we were surround by what I started assuming was a magic field.

" _Lesser Dog appeared. That stone sword gives it seven attack rating, but it never uses its shield so it has basically zero defense."_

Lesser Dog panted a little before barking again, then got a running start and lept at me. Not expecting it, I didn't get out of the way in time and got smacked in the shoulder, sending me onto my butt in the snow. I got up and wiped the ice off, not wanting to get even colder than I already was as well as wet, then looked at the dog. Seemed that one attack was enough for it at the moment, and it just cocked its head to one side as it looked to see what I would do. I knew how to handle an unruly dog, as I'd seen him do it before.

"Bad dog!" I yelled out as I raised my hand, bringing it down right on the dog monster's muzzle. Lesser dog yipped out and backed off with its tail between its legs, before lifting its sword up. Beside me, a blue spear popped out of the ground and came towards me.

" _Don't move!"_ The voice said just before I went to spring out of the way. I did as it said and the blue spear passed harmlessly by, only for a white spear to be right behind it.

" _Move now!"_ I didn't need to be told twice and rushed away from the white spear, which seemed to stop in place before disappearing. I had to end the fight before it could surprise me with anything else, so I ran at the Lesser Dog and gave it a solid punch with my gloved hand right in the face, only for it to turn to dust around my hand. The armor and sword clattered to the ground and I was thankful I hadn't been hurt more. I found a small pouch tied to the armor, and inside were more of the coins they used for money.

With that, I continued, but was quickly stopped by a set of spikes on the ground. I looked around, but didn't see anything obvious to make them go down. Instead, I started checking all the trees and snow-covered rocks for some kind of switch. After checking the three trees around the ice last, I started to panic, thinking maybe there was no way to continue and I'd freeze.

" _Monsters wouldn't make a trap like this unless there was a way out of it. Try heading back towards the spikes, I'll keep an eye out."_ I did as the voice suggested and headed back, while looking for anything I might have missed.

" _Wait, over to your right! That snow looks like it's been moved recently. Check over there."_ I didn't know how it spotted the difference, but I took the advice and went over to it. I did notice as I got to it that the snow seemed lighter than the rest and moved easily, revealing something underneath. Moving as much snow as I could revealed some kind of drawing with a red mark on one side.

" _Oh, it's a map. X marks the spot, so that would put it between the three trees on the other side. Let's look back around there."_ With a groan I went back up to the trees, and between them was another spot with lighter snow. A quick sweep to move some revealed a switch hidden beneath, with the familiar sound of the spikes retracting coming after pressing it.

" _Hey, why the sour attitude?"_ The voice asked as I made my way back towards where the spikes were.

"I don't like killing dogs. On the surface most of them were nice and wanted to play." I said while passing the spikes and heading over a small bridge.

" _Yeah, dog monsters used to be that way too. Whatever caused them to betray their old ways doesn't matter though, only getting out alive does."_ As they finished talking, I turned to continue down the path, but what I saw stopped me in my tracks. Two more dog monsters, clothed in black robes and carrying large axes, walking side by side towards me.

"What's that smell?" One asked as they drew near, sniffing at the air.

"Where's that smell?" The other asked, snout moving all over.

"If you're a smell..." the first began, "...identify yoursmelf," the second completed.

" _Does everyone down here tell terrible puns now?"_ The voice asked as the two dogs moved all over, sniffing at everything. I wanted to run, but they were moving quickly all over the place that I didn't know if I could make it. Eventually they stopped on either side of me.

"Hmm...here's that weird smell. It makes me want to eliminate."

"...Eliminate YOU!" Why? Why was everything attacking me without giving me a chance? Why did I have no choice but to fight?

" _Dogi assault you! Seems they can't see too well, so they rely on smell."_

"Don't touch my hotdog," one of them said, getting into an attack position.

"He means me," the other said, mimicking the first.

They came at me with large swings of their axes, making moving out of the way next to impossible. Every way I tried to move, there was an ax there. I took a hit on my side, thankfully not with one of the blades, but it still hurt. I wasn't sure which one to attack first, so I went with the one who hit me, which turned out to be the girl. I landed a decent hit, but it didn't seem to hurt her much. Instead, she put some distance between us, putting me in the middle of them again.

"No. 2 nuzzle champs '98!" He said, with her replying "Of course we were second." Suddenly a bunch of magic hearts erupted from him and headed towards her, with half the hearts being light blue and the others white. Against the snow, it was hard to make out which was which, and I got hit twice before I was able to attack the girl again. This time it seemed to hurt her more, but she was still standing, if a little shakily.

The male then ran up and their axes came hard and fast. I tried jumping over a swing and made it, only to get knocked down by the back-swing of the girl's ax. When I looked up, I saw the boy dog standing over me, then he swung his ax down towards my head as I yelled out, and then everything went black.

"You're going to be alright..." I heard a deep, rumbling voice say in an echo-y way. "Chara, stay determined!" There it was again, that name. It was the same one that was on the save file when I touched the stars, and the first time I died too. Huh, now that I thought of it, it was odd to talk about how many times I died.

"A-are you still there?" I called out to the darkness, hoping my companion voice was still with me.

" _Of course, partner. Just waiting for you to Load so we can try again."_ I didn't need to be told twice. I didn't like it in the darkness, not only because it meant I was dead, but it felt like something was constantly watching me. With an unsettled shudder, I hit the Load button and was suddenly back in the snow as if nothing ever happened. A quick look around confirmed I was with the microwave and frozen spaghetti.

I went back through the puzzle and even fought Lesser Dog again, this time managing to not get hurt from him. I was determined to get past the two Dogi, and when confronted by them again I struck first, hitting the male that had killed me before. They started swinging and chopping at me again, making me panic.

" _Duck!"_ Shouted the voice in my head, which I listened to instantly. It was just in time too as I felt the wind in my hair from one of their axes.

" _Dive straight!"_ Again, followed the advice right away and heard the thud of an ax hitting the ground right behind me. Getting up and turning around, I was able to land another solid hit on the male dog, causing him to turn to dust while his robe and ax fell to the ground.

"You...you..." I heard from my side, seeing the other dog looking at me with so much hate and anger. "I'LL CUT YOU IN HALF!" I backed away as she ran towards me and picked up the fallen ax on the way so she could use both to attack me. She got my soul two times before she stopped to catch her breath, allowing me a solid hook to her snout. It hurt, but she wasn't done.

" _Man, Dogaressa is on the warpath."_ Well now I had a name for her, but that wasn't helpful at all at the moment because Dogaressa seemed to have gotten a second wind and was back at it, attacking quickly and giving me little chance to get away. My soul was hit again, but I wasn't going to die to her this time. She chopped with both axes together as I was near the edge of the magic field around us, but I was small enough to slip underneath her and out of harm's way. She tried to turn around for another assault but one of the axes had gotten stuck, which was lucky for me as it gave me plenty of time to get the last hit in against her back. She fell off the side while turning to dust, the axes going with her.

I watched her robe fall, the dust scattering in the air. I was on my hands and knees, breathing hard, the biting cold air feeling like it was burning in my lungs. This was becoming too much. I was just a kid, I wasn't supposed to be fighting for my life against monsters. Monsters themselves weren't supposed to have families and loved ones and feelings. Yes, they were attacking me, but I could tell how much those two dogs loved each other, from the way they talked to and looked at each other, to how devastated Dogaressa was when the other died. I wanted to cry, to scream, to wake up from this bad nightmare.

I only managed the first two. Weird ice creatures and bugs talking about hide mines or something was one thing, but dogs were supposed to be friendly and playful. Well, at least the ones I met while waiting on the surface were.

" _Jeez, you big crybaby,"_ the voice said after I don't know how long of me sobbing. _"They attacked you first, you only did what you had to in order to defend yourself. Now, get up and get moving before you freeze to death and have to do all that again. And don't forget the money Dogamy dropped, you can still get that at least."_

"A-alright..." I said unenthusiasticly, trying to get my sniffling under control as I rose up. I knew it was right, and I didn't want to have to come back again, so on I went. Just after the little area I fought the dogs at was a cliff with some strange stuff. Two X's between ice piles, a big button, and a sign. It said to turn the X's to O's and press the button, but it didn't say how to change them. I was looking around for some kind of switch or other device when I stepped on one and made it change. That made it incredibly easy to finish, and at the press of the button some spikes ahead retracted, revealing Papyrus on the other side. At the sound of the spikes moving, he turned around and looked at me all surprised.

"WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP? AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY...IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?"

" _He's talking about that frozen spaghetti. Just tell him we left it there."_

"Oh, I uh...didn't eat any," I replied to Papyrus, taking the voice's advice.

"REALLY!? WOWIE..." I was afraid Papyrus was going to be disappointed by the news. "YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOME-COOKED PASTA JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME?" Welp, no worries about him being disappointed at least.

"FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!"

As he ran off, I was trying to process what he said. He would really make me all the food I wanted, even though he was supposed to be trying to capture me? Maybe, I thought, he would change his mind about that and just help me.

" _I bet it's another trap. He tries to get on your good side, then when you least expect it, POW! Right in the kisser!"_ I wanted to hope the voice was wrong, but it had been right about most things so far, but maybe, just maybe, it wasn't this time. With that hope, I followed the tall skeleton, and it wasn't long until I caught up with him.

"MY BROTHER STARTED A SOCK COLLECTION RECENTLY," he said as I got near. "HOW SADDENING. SOMETIMES I WONDER WHAT HE WOULD DO WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF HIM."

" _If he doesn't want to find out, he'll stay out of our way,"_ the voice replied, but I made sure to not repeat that. I was just glad to be around someone that wasn't trying to kill me. I just smiled and shrugged, heading towards the puzzle I saw nearby.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted as he hurried to catch up. "HMM...HOW DO I SAY THIS? YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE." Looking over the puzzle and turning my head sideways, I think it did look a little like him. It was hard to tell though.

" _That is the opposite of improving it,"_ said the voice sarcastically.

"UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND. NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT! AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND. I SUPPOSE WHAT I AM SAYING IS...WORRY NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED." That was a relief, knowing I wouldn't have to do this alone. Sure, the voice could help, but it was nice having someone physically there.

"MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF! I'LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!"

I looked over the puzzle, walking around it a few times, trying to figure it out. Starting at what I would call the top, I did a circle around an snow mound, only to step on an X twice and turn it into a box. The voice told me to go ahead and press the button, and doing so caused all the shapes to turn back into X's. Next I tried at going from the far end, and got most of the shapes changed, but got stuck and had to step on one a second time. After a couple more tries, I was starting to get irritated.

" _Want some help there, partner?"_ The way the voice said that made it seem like not only did they know how to solve it, but they were kind of taunting me with the knowledge.

"No, I'm fine," I said with a huff, going back through again, missing the solution by one X.

" _You sure? I could tell you how to do it right now..."_

"I got this!" I cried out, not wanting to be bested by some little puzzle and made to look as stupid as I really was. I had to get it eventually, and indeed I got it on my next try, the spikes ahead sinking below the snow at the press of the button.

"WOW, YOU SOLVED IT! AND YOU DID IT ALL WITHOUT MY HELP! INCREDIBLE! I'M IMPRESSED!" Papyrus' words caught me completely off guard and made me forget about my anger. That was the first time I'd gotten actual, genuine praise from someone other than Toriel, and it made me feel...happy, I think is the closest word.

"YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO! WELL, I'M SURE YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!" Papyrus then ran off ahead, the sound of his distinct laughter echoing all around. I followed his footsteps past the puzzle, and Sans was waiting just past where the spikes were.

"good job on solving it so quickly," he said while giving me a thumbs up. "you didn't even need my help. which is great, cause i love doing absolutely nothing." The last two words were more drawn out, making it sound funnier. I was really starting to feel good and was looking forward to the next puzzle, just as long as nothing popped out to attack before then, which didn't happen. Sans held out his arm in a "go ahead" stand, and I sauntered off to the next clearing, where on the other side was Papyrus...and Sans!?

" _Ok, something is definitely up with that skeleton. Makes me like him even less."_ I didn't mind Sans. His jokes were funny, and the way he and his brother talked was like those families I'd seen on television sometimes. I did have to admit, however, that the way he looked at me from afar sometimes gave me the creeps

There was a little bridge connecting where I was to what I assumed was the next puzzle. It made a squeak as I stepped on it, and both brothers turned to face me.

"HEY! IT'S THE HUMAN!" I could hear Papyrus yell out. In fact, I think anyone outside the mountain could hear him too. "YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS! YOU SEE THESE TILES?" He asked, pointing to the floor between us. "ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!"

"RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM!" Ok, what made it so I couldn't...

"YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU!" Wait, like with that invasi...invidi...

"GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM, YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER!" But that meant I'd have to kill something in front of them, and then they'd...

"ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS!" I didn't know colors had scents. Wonder what red smelled like, or...

"BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH IF YOU LIKE, BUT IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES, THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU." The what would bite me? "ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU!" Hold on, would that zap the things in the water too, or were they...

"PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP SMELLS LIKE LEMONS, WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OK!" That was helpful, but what if I smelled like both, or...

"FINALLY, PINK TILES...THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE." Okay, that one was easy. So red I couldn't walk on, I could swim through the green, unless I smelled...um, yellow? Blue would shock me, and...wait, I think I mixed one up somewhere...

"HOW WAS THAT? UNDERSTAND?" I looked up at the smiling duo and scratched my head, giving a nervous laugh.

"Um...not really. Could you explain it again?"

" _Yeah, that was confusing even for me."_

"OKAY, I GUESS I'LL REPEAT MYSELF..." Papyrus said with just a little annoyance.

"RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE. YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC AND DANGEROUS. BLUE TILES MAKE YOU FIGHT A MONSTER. GREEN TILES ARE WATER TILES. ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. IF YOU STEP ON ORANGE, DON'T STEP ON GREEN. BROWN TILES ARE...WAIT! THERE ARE NO BROWN TILES! PURPLE TILES SMELL LIKE LEMONS. WHY DON'T THE YELLOW TILES SMELL LIKE LEMONS?" He sounded as confused as I was now, having an extra color thrown in then out, and mixing all the colors and smells and such.

"WAIT, DID I MIX UP GREEN AND BLUE? THE BLUE ONES ARE WATER ONES! PINK...I DON'T...REMEMBER?" Well that one was easy, pink was impassable. I think.

"WAIT, THOSE ONES DON'T DO ANYTHING. OKAY, DO YOU UNDERSTAND BETTER NOW!?"

After a second thorough explanation, I could honestly say I was absolutely, 100%, unerringly, completely confused.

"No...what did the brown ones do again?" After my question, Papyrus was silent for a bit before letting out a sigh.

"OK, YOU KNOW WHAT? HOW ABOUT YOU JUST...DO THIS PUZZLE ON YOUR OWN? I'LL LEAVE THE INSTRUCTIONS, SO JUST READ THEM. THEN WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND IT, YOU CAN THROW THE SWITCH AND DO IT AT YOUR OWN PACE. GOOD LUCK." With that, he gave a half-hearted laugh and walked off, leaving a paper in front of the big machine. I kind of felt bad not knowing that puzzle and letting him down, but I just could not get my head around it.

I walked across the tiles and picked up the paper, but I couldn't make it out. I tried turning it around, upside down, and every which way, but I must have forgotten how to read.

" _It's illegible chicken-scratch. That idiot writes even worse than you do."_ Well, that didn't make me feel any better, but at least I hadn't stopped knowing my letters. I tried pressing the switch on the machine, but it didn't do anything. Instead, I turned around to face Sans.

"Hi Mr. Sans." I said, a small smile on my face.

"sheesh kid, it's just sans," he replied. "and actually, that spaghetti from earlier...it wasn't too bad for my brother," he said with a shrug. "since he started cooking lessons, he's been improving a lot. i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible." He topped off the sentence with a wink, and I gave a small laugh even though I didn't know what edible was.

I headed off to the next area after telling Sans I'd see him at the next puzzle and the first place I came to was a large flat place with another station at it. There was just a bunch of snow mounds all over, like someone was trying to make something but it fell to pieces every time. Inside the station was just a small box of what looked like food. Next to it was a sign.

"A-w-a-r-e, o-f, d-o-g. P-l-e-a-s, p-e-t, d-o-g. Um, I think some of those words are spelled wrong or something," I said to the voice, as no one else was in the area and felt safe talking to them.

" _Yeah, they're pretty bad at spelling when even YOU know it's wrong,"_ they replied.

"Hey, just because I'm not that good with words and letters doesn't mean you have to keep bringing it up like that!" I said, my voice rising.

" _It's just the truth, and the truth hurts. No reason to cry about it, unless you're just a big baby. Besides, it's not like you're the worst at it, since that loud bonehead probably couldn't even write his own name right,"_ it retorted, seemingly either ignoring how I felt, or just not caring. Rather than continue talking to it and getting madder, I instead turned around and saw one of those stars behind a snow pile. I reached out for it and felt the now familiar magic feeling coming from it, as well as pressing save again.

Next on the path was a large area covered in ice and more X's. Testing the ice, I found it very slippery and knew if I fell, I'd keep going until I got to one of the clear spots on an X, or off the side. Looking down, I saw it was only a few feet down, and someone had made a snowman next to a pile of snow. It turned out that the snowman was actually a snowpapyrus, and the pile just had the word Sans written on it. I learned this the first time I fell off trying the puzzle, and was reminded of it the other five times I failed. The voice didn't offer to help on this one, but did laugh each time I didn't get it.

Finally, I managed to get all the X's to O's and press the switch without falling off, which somehow made an ice bridge past a bunch of trees. Some snow plopped onto my head as I went through, and fell off just past the trees. After that, there were two paths, one straight and one right.

" _I think we need to hurry up. You're not looking too good,"_ the voice said out of nowhere.

"W-what do you mean?" I was healed back the the last star, so I should've been okay.

" _Have you really not noticed? You've been shivering since that electric maze, and now your lips are starting to turn blue."_ I went to touch my lips with my ungloved hand, but neither my fingers nor lips felt anything. I guess I never payed attention to it with everything else going on.

"What's happening!? Will we make it?" I asked, starting to panic at the thought of becoming a frozen statue out here in the cold.

" _I think so, but we can't waste time. Go straight, it'll take you to the village, and then we can find a place to warm you up."_

"What about you? Are you ok?" I wasn't sure how being a voice or ghost or whatever worked, so I had to ask as I kept walking.

" _Psh, yeah, I'm fine. I don't feel a thing."_ Well that was good for it. Almost made me wish I was a voice too.

I came upon another clearing, but this time there were several large round tufts of snow everywhere. I looked one over as all the rest I'd seen up to now had been just piles of ice or snow.

" _It's just a snowpoff. Keep going."_ I'd never heard of a snowpoff before, but I did need to get to town soon. A part of the path narrowed with a snowpoff in front of it, but as I walked up to it something popped out from the back. Right after, a dog's head pushed through the front of it.

"A dog! Are you stuck in the snow? Do you need some help?" I asked the white fluffy face in front of me. Its tail wagged and it gave two small barks, and I reached out to take some of the snow off of it.

" _Frisk, get back!"_ Shouted the voice, and on instinct I listened, stepping back a couple paces as the snow around the dog lifted up. Where once I was looking down at a cute puppy in the snow, I was now looking UP at a dog in large armor. My soul popped out as a magic field encircled us.

" _It's the Greater Dog! Careful, it thinks fighting is playing, and it always plays as hard as it can."_

I couldn't help but think of how happy it looked as it stood there, wagging its tail. Suddenly, it let out two loud barks, making the air itself rush away from it. It hit me so hard I got knocked to the ground, and had just enough time to move out of the way as it barked again. After that, it looked at me, tongue hanging out and panting as though it hadn't just hurt me.

I charged at it before it could bark again, jumping in order to connect my gloved hand to its snout. Despite how painful that must have been, Great Dog never lost that happy, fun-having look. What made up for it though was the magic spear I saw coming at me from the side, flashing between blue and white. I had to time it so it would pass me while blue, and I got it with a little help from the voice.

Greater Dog seemed to have changed focus to the magic spear for a bit, getting down on all fours with his butt in the air like he wanted to play, giving me a perfect opportunity to come in with an uppercut. It felt like as I was throwing the punch, someone took hold of my arm and made it go faster, causing it to hit the dog harder. It let out a sharp yelp, turning to dust as the blow knocked it backwards, the empty armor clattering onto its back. Some coins fell out, and I scooped them up.

I didn't feel so good anymore. I was wet from the snow and sweat from the fight, really feeling the shivering all over now. Without the rush that came with fighting, I felt so tired and weak I could barely walk straight.

" _Here, I think I can help a bit,"_ said the voice, and then it felt like someone had an arm around me, holding me up in a standing position. I took a cautious step and nearly lurched to the left, but the thing holding me corrected me just enough to stop me from stumbling.

" _Hey, either be more careful or lose a few pounds. I can't support you completely you know,"_ I heard it say...or did I? It didn't matter, all that did was moving forward, getting away, finding somewhere safe again...

The next thing I came upon was a long, narrow bridge, barely big enough for me alone. I tested the bridge with a little shaking before stepping on it, but it seemed to be pretty solid and unshakable. With my voice friend as support, I slowly made my way across. I was almost at the end when I looked up and saw Sans and Papyrus standing on the other side.

"HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE!" I stopped in my tracks, wondering what else Papyrus could have in store for me while several lights danced in the distance behind him.

"BEHOLD, THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" At that, I heard the sounds of mechanical whirring as several things came out of the mountain they stood on. Spears, a canon, fire, a spiked ball, and...a dog?

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!

ARE YOU READY?

BECAUSE!

I!

AM!

ABOUT!

TO DO IT!"

I grasped onto the rope siding of the bridge, doing my best to not collapse right there and then, my eyes feeling so heavy. I think I tried to speak, but I'm not sure if anything came out, though Papyrus did turn away. After what must have been a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, Sans turned to his brother.

"well? what's the holdup?" He asked, giving me a sideways glance.

"HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!? I'M...I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!" Papyrus turned back around and said in a quieter, yet still yelling, voice. I could have been imagining it, but I swear he was shaking almost as much as me.

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated," Sans replied.

"WELL...THIS CHALLENGE! IT SEEMS...MAYBE...TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH. YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR, AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!"

I hear the mechanical parts whir again, taking the weapons back into their hiding places. When they were gone, I thought I heard Papyrus sigh with relief, and I had to smile, thankful I wasn't going to have to deal with that. I looked at the tall skeleton to see what he would do.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!" He started laughing again, but it quickly died down to nothing before he ran off again. I made it the rest of the way over the bridge with Sans standing at the end.

"i don't know what my brother's going to do now," he said as I got near. "if i were you, i would make sure i understand blue attacks." Was it just me, or were those last words actually blue? I must have been out of it if I thought I could see the colors of spoken words. With a tired nod I trudged past him.

It wasn't too much further until I stepped into a small town. There were lights everywhere and a big sign, though I didn't really stop to look at any of it. It was all I could do to keep moving at all.

" _Go in here,"_ said the voice, and I felt a push towards a door to my left. I opened it up and stepped inside, feeling the cold air dissipate away. I couldn't really feel the warmth yet, but it was a start. I looked up and noticed a woman...rabbit...person behind a counter. Somewhere in my mind told me this was a monster and I might be in for a fight, but I was too out of it to care. Instead, I let the voice's force move me to the counter.

"Welcome to Snowed Inn! Snowdin's premier hotel! One night is 80 gold." I couldn't count that high even on my best days, so I took a handful of coins out put them on the table, trying to make it look like I was counting them, but instead asking the voice to help me. It then felt like someone took my hand in theirs and moved the coins around until there was a big pile close to the monster woman, and a smaller one closer to me. She took the stack of coins closest to her, and my hand took the others and put them away before the sensation left. The rabbit lady grabbed a key from under the desk and handed it to me.

"Here's your room key," she said, then after looking at me a moment added, "make sure to bundle up!" I took the steps one at a time, slowly getting to the top, then letting the voice guide me to the room. Once inside, I removed my cold, wet clothes, crawled onto the bed, and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. This is the part where I regret to say both this story and my other one will have to be put on temporary hiatus until I move, which will probably be after the holidays. Once I'm settled in, I'll get back to writing these stories, because I'm as eager as to see the rest as you are. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

There was nothing all round me. Nothing but darkness all over. I thought, perhaps, that I was in the void after being killed again, but things felt different this time. For one, I couldn't move nor speak, no matter how hard I tried. Secondly, there was a voice. Not the usual deep baritone coming from all over I'd heard before, but a softer, higher pitched murmuring behind me. Ever so slowly, and with great effort, I was able to turn my head to see what it was.

Kneeling with her back to me was none other than Toriel! I could recognize that dress and figure anywhere. In front of her, I could barely make out a pair of legs with brown shorts and the bottom of a yellow and green striped shirt. I must have made a noise that she could hear but I couldn't, because she stopped what she was doing, stood up, and turned around to look at me. Her eyes were watery, with tears streaming down her face.

"My...my child..." she said with a voice that sounded like an echo, her eyes on mine. "Do you see...what happens...when you leave?" Her hands raised, with fire coming from them. Suddenly, we were surrounded by flames, and there was a wall of fire between her and I.

"I only want...what's best for you..." Somehow, I could easily hear her voice over the sound of the roaring fires. "This is for...your own good..." She pushed her hands forward, and the firewall moved closer, and closer, the heat scorching my skin. In each flame, I swear I could see the faces of each monster I had turned to dust, their faces twisted in rage. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. All I could do was watch as, once again, I was consumed and burning...

Then suddenly I was falling and landed heavily on a wooden floor, if the thump my head made was any indication. I could barely move, but in the dim light coming through a curtained window I could now tell it was because I was tightly wrapped up in a blanket. It took a minute, but eventually I unbound myself from the soft yet constricting prison. Once free, I jumped up and looked down at my body, examining it for burn marks. I let out a small sigh of relief at finding none, slowly relaxing after such an awful nightmare.

" _About time you woke up,"_ I heard the voice say in exasperation. _"You were out all night and most of the day. I've had nothing to do but watch you roll around the whole time with those nightmares of yours."_

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to," came my response, worried I'd made them angry with me. I sat up and hopped out of bed, going to grab my clothes. Somehow, they felt dry even though they were nearly soaked from the snow and ice the day before.

" _Yeah, well, it wouldn't happen if you weren't being such a wuss about all this,"_ they retorted while I got dressed. _"All that whining and crying isn't going to help you get out of this place. You got to toughen up. Don't get sad, get MAD!"_ I finished putting the last of my clothes on as they talked, feeling that the clothes where a little stiff after drying out. Going back to sit on the bed, a thought of my own popped into my head.

"Hey, you said you would tell me more about yourself once we were safe, didn't you?" I didn't know where to look to talk to them, or if they were even physically in room or just in my mind, so I just looked up towards the ceiling. "I think we're pretty safe here for now," I said, trying to goad them into revealing more. There was a long pause where I started thinking they were going to stay silent before I heard a sigh.

" _Okay, remember that name you asked about earlier? Chara?"_ I nodded my head, the events of the other day all too clear even after waking up not so long ago. _"Well, that's me. I'm Chara, and I am...well, was, the first human to end up down here after the monsters became trapped."_

"And they killed you, like they're trying to do to me?" I asked, sure that the monsters had always lived up to the reputation that name carried.

" _No,"_ they said, surprising me. _"All of the monsters used to be different. They were so much better when I was here. A family of them found me after I fell and saved me, then adopted me as their own kid. It... was honestly the best time of my life."_ I could hear the wistful tones in their voice as they spoke, recalling what sounded like a pleasant time.

" _I learned about magic, the saving stars, and how the monsters were trapped down here by humans. I realized monsters were the good guys and wanted to help them get back to the surface, so I came up with a way to do it. My plan almost worked, but I was betrayed by someone I thought I could trust."_ Their voice started to get aggressive and rise, to the point I was afraid others would hear them.

" _And now I come back to find everything has changed. The monsters are evil, Asgore has killed six other humans, and they're all willing to murder a hurt, scared child that doesn't know what's going on, just like I was! They're no better than the humans anymore!"_ Now they were full on shouting, making me cover my ears, though that did nothing to help.

"What happened that made them like this?" If monsters were nice and kind before, what could have changed them so much?

" _How should I know? I wasn't around for that part,"_ came their response. Their tone seemed little defensive, so to not upset it I changed the subject.

"Well, with the save thing, is there any way to change it to my name, since I'm the one going through all this?"

" _I'm not sure. None of the monsters could ever see the stars, and I was the only human, so I don't know if changing it is possible. It doesn't seem to matter though, it's still letting you use them."_ I sighed, disappointed that I couldn't do anything about that, but also glad I know the name of the voice...ghost...person following me. That brought up another question though.

"Why did you decide to come with me? No one's ever wanted to be around me."

" _For one, I didn't. I don't know how to fully describe it, but it was like I woke up when you landed on those flowers. Then, when you started to move, I felt myself getting pulled along, almost as if there was a rope tied on us that only you could pull. The farther I get away from you, the stronger the pull is. So I never had a choice."_ I sighed, thinking that they were only with me because somehow I wouldn't allow them to leave.

" _Hey now, just because I have to be around you doesn't mean I want to leave. Maybe when I first woke up, but now I see that you're different than most other humans. That brings me to my second point: you're a sissy crybaby that can't do anything on his own, like someone else I used to know. So I decided that I wanted to stick around and help you out, cause everyone needs a friend, right partner?"_

"A...friend? You'd be my friend?" I was shocked. This was the first person that ever said they wanted to be my friend. Sure they weren't even alive or visible, but it was better than nothing, which is what I had before.

" _Yeah, sure, long as you keep moving. I'm not looking forward to staying down here anymore. Who knows, maybe since the monsters are so bad now, the humans might have gotten better. Now, if you don't have any further questions, we should go. Once we leave town, there's a warmer place so you won't be in the snow for too much longer."_

I agreed and stretched out, feeling much better after resting up. As I headed down the stairs and into the front room, the same rabbit was behind the counter. She waved at me, so I waved back, and noticed that there was a smaller rabbit beside her.

"Good morning! Or should I say afternoon? Either way, I hope you had a pleasant night here at Snowed Inn, Snowdin's premier hotel!" I nodded and said my thanks, quickly heading outside. The bitter cold hadn't let up at all through the night, but at least I wouldn't have to stay in it so long again. I thought I could be sneaky and just leave, but the moment I stepped out I knew that would be impossible. There were monsters everywhere! I looked around nervously, expecting one to recognize me and attack, but everyone that looked my way just gave a wave and kept on with their business.

Suddenly, a scent passed by my nose, making me take a big whiff. It smelled delicious and caused my stomach to rumble, making me realize how long it had been since I'd last eaten. I wanted to follow the smell so much, salivating at the idea of food, but didn't know if I'd be okay if I did. It only took a little prodding by Chara to do so though, and it turned out the scent came from the shop next to the inn. When I opened the door, a little bell above it sounded, letting the purple rabbit woman behind the counter know I was there.

"Hello traveler. How can I help you?" She said nicely, not seeming to notice I was human.

" _They might not know you're a human here. Even if they did, fighting in a town is forbidden,"_ Chara relayed to me, lessening my fears somewhat.

"Oh, I just... I smelled something nice from outside, and I..." My voice was quiet, not wanting to look her in the eyes. Fortunately, her large ears seemed to pick up my words, and she smiled.

"Ah, caught a whiff of these, I bet." She reached into a glass case beside her and pulled out what looked like sugar coated bread in the shape of a rabbit. "It's a cinnamon bunny, 25G each. It's my own recipe."

" _You have enough for only one,"_ Chara informed me, and then helped me count out the coins. I only had a few gold remaining, but I left the store chewing on the baked bunny ears.

"Bye now! Come again sometime!" The rabbit woman called out before the door closed and I was back out in the cold. Maybe I would come back once I made more money, because the cinnamon bunny was delicious. Then I thought of how I was getting the coins in the first place, and thought maybe I shouldn't. But perhaps she didn't have to know where I got it...

I made my way down the street, making sure to avoid the monsters out and about, heading the way Chara told me to. We passed a few buildings along the way, including a restaurant, a librarby (whatever that was), and some homes. Once past the last house, I noticed we were following a river that had large chunks of ice floating down it, and there was a thick fog starting to build up. It kept building until I couldn't even see the path I was walking on. Suddenly, a tall, dark shadow appeared in the mist, making me stop in my tracks.

"HUMAN." It was Papyrus! I sighed, letting out the tension I felt build up upon first seeing his shadow. I wondered what puzzle I had to solve to continue this time.

"ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS... THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!" Well, that wasn't what I thought he was going to say, but it was still amusing, and I did kind of feel that way, if I was being honest.

"I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE." I did, lots of times. "I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN... WORRY NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR..." Was this real? Was he really going to be my friend too? I would go from zero friends to two within a single day!

"... NO... NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!" Oh, I guess... it was too good to be true. "YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS! THE NEWEST MEMBER... OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" With that, my soul popped out, the fog disappeared in the magic field, and I could clearly see the tall skeleton across from me, one hand on his hip.

" _Papyrus is blocking the way. You know what to do."_ Chara said in my head. I gave a small nod and balled my gloved hand into a fist. I didn't want to hurt Papyrus, but if he wouldn't move...

Charging in, I brought my fist back and slammed it into Papyrus' middle, feeling how hard those bones were. Thankfully the padding on the glove protected me, but I could tell I did some damage to the skeleton by the sound of air being knocked out of him, though I'm still not sure where it came from.

"SO YOU'RE SERIOUS..." the tall skeleton said after righting himself. "THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED BLUE ATTACK!" Suddenly, a mass of light blue bones in all sizes came flying towards me. I instinctively backed away, putting up my arms to shield myself.

" _Don't move! It's just like that one dog from yesterday."_ Chara's voice rang out in my mind, stopping my in my tracks. They knew about fighting and staying alive, so listening to them was my best chance. Indeed, peeking past my arms, I saw all the bones going harmlessly through me and grinned, figuring I had this fight in the bag. I readied for another punch, only to see my soul change color and suddenly fell to my knees, as if something heavy had suddenly dropped on my back. Out of nowhere, a white bone came zooming in from Papyrus and smacked me right in the face.

"YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" I heard him say that as I picked myself up, using my bare hand to wipe some wetness off my upper lip, only to look and see blood smeared across my fingers. Then I noticed the dripping feeling from my nose and realized that bone had hit me square on it.

" _THAT DIRTY, UNDERHANDED, BACKSTABBING BASTARD!"_ I winced as Chara's voice cried out loud and clear. _"I knew we couldn't trust him, or his brother! Don't hold back on him, Frisk!"_

I agreed and ran up to Papyrus, swinging my arm to hit him. However, whatever magic he was using made it impossible to move to either side, forcing me into a straight line. Along with the feeling of being heavier threw me off balance, causing me to miss.

"TRY JUMPING UP!" Papyrus pointed up as he said that and I got into a defensive position a bit away, wondering what he meant. I did indeed try it, and somehow I was able to get my feet off the ground. I became so preoccupied with testing it out that I didn't see his next attack coming, this time getting smacked in the back of a leg and falling on my back. I swear I heard something snap, but wasn't sure if that was the attack bone or my leg. When I got back up, I was glad my leg wasn't broken, but it was still in a lot of pain.

Unable to get a good running start, I quickly limped within range of Papyrus and swung, trying to get him back in his leg but only managing a glancing blow this time. At least it was an improvement over my last attack. I could see another bone manifesting, so I backed off.

"HOW HIGH CAN YOU JUMP?" He asked with a quizzical look on his face. This time as the bone came near, I did my best to time it so I would leap over it. The sensation of being weighed down yet jumping was really strange, causing me to tumble and land on my stomach in the snow, but I made it. I had gotten past the skeleton's attack!

" _One bone down, one million more to go."_ I hoped Chara wasn't being serious. I don't think I could've done that a million more times. Either way, I scrambled to my feet and took another swing, getting a decent hit this time.

"BEHOLD!" Shouted the tall skeleton as another bone came at me, then another behind that one. I managed to hop over the both of them, feeling like I was getting the hang of things, when suddenly a larger bone rushed towards me. In a panic, I tried jumping again, but didn't get enough air and got smacked back down when it impacted my chest. There was some intense pain and it was hard to breathe as I got up, only to see another of the same size. I wasn't fast enough getting up to jump, and the magic wouldn't let me move to the side, so I tried to cover my head in my arms. I got knocked on my back again, this time with my forearm throbbing in pain.

" _Get up, get up! There's more on the way!"_ Chara's warning had me scrambling despite the pain, and I had just enough time to get to my feet and try to push off when an even larger bone crashed against my side, knocking the wind out of me. This time I knew the crunch of something breaking had come from me. Looking towards Papyrus, I saw another of the large bones hurtling my way. I barely had time to flinch from my spot in the snow when it reached me and impacted, sending me rolling over the icy ground.

I was expecting the darkness to come again, giving me the option to go back and try again, but somehow I was still alive. I heard the snow crunching and was barely able to look up, seeing Papyrus looking back down at me.

"YOU'RE TOO WEAK! I WAS EASILY ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU! I WILL NOW SEND YOU TO THE CAPTURE ZONE! OR, AS SANS CALLS IT... OUR GARAGE? YOU'RE IN THE DOGHOUSE NOW! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" His laughing face was the last thing I recalled before the pain became too much and I passed out.


	8. Chapter 8

The feeling of a hard floor beneath me as I woke up was, sadly, familiar. I momentarily thought that perhaps I was waking up back above the surface, that everything I had been through was a dream that would soon fade away, leaving me to suffer through my former life. However, when I dared open my eyes, the room I awakened to was completely unfamiliar. The walls were cracked with the brown paint peeling, the two window were broken with pieces missing, and the wooden floor had gaps between some of the slats. That wasn't even mentioning the 'gate' between me and a small hallway, similar to the kind I saw back in the forest. A cursory look around revealed a few objects in the room with me: some kind of rubber bone, a very small and round bed, a bowl with what looked like dog food, and a note.

" _It's a note from...Papyrus."_ Chara said, almost sounding like they spit out the skeleton's name. _"It reads 'Sorry, I have to lock you into the guest room until Undyne arrives. Feel free to make yourself at home. Refreshments and accommodations have been provided. Nyehfully yours, Papyrus.'"_

"What did all that mean?" I had to ask since there were some big words there I didn't understand.

" _It means we're supposed to be his prisoner until someone comes and picks us up. He also gave you a bed and food, though the bed looks too small and the food is just dry dog food. However, I wouldn't stay here long, I don't like the sound of... what are you doing?"_ While Chara had been talking, I decided to go to the bowl and sit by it to listen to them. I was picking the little food balls out of it and chewing on them, not having had an actual meal in over a day.

"Just eating. Dog food isn't that good, but it's not the first time I've had it," I replied between bites, now getting a few at a time. I thought I heard a sigh from Chara, though with the crunch of the food I couldn't be sure.

" _Fine, just hurry up. At least it's magic dog food, so it isn't bad for you."_ I made sure to eat faster at Chara's insistence, though not too fast. It was only a couple minutes before I finished, feeling rather full now. I got up and stretched properly, feeling none of the pain from the fight before.

" _Luckily, you were only out long enough to be healed and put in here. That tall bastard just left a couple minutes ago, so we can still get out of town."_ I could feel something like hands on the back of my... well, back, pushing me towards the gate, which again was too big to stop me. The door was unlocked, so all I had to do was turn left to head back towards the town exit. I noticed we were next to a rather large house, and it clicked that it must belong to Sans and Papyrus. I thought it might be useful knowledge for later, and did my best to remember it. Following the river down the path again, the air started to grow all foggy once more. I had hoped to sneak out unseen, but a voice ahead made me stop.

"I SUPPOSE THIS PROVES WHAT I SAID," I heard through the thick fog, the dark outline of the bigger skeleton a small ways off. "WE REALLY ARE BOUND TOGETHER. TWO BONES IN THE SKELETAL ANATOMY OF FATE. THAT'S HOW YOU APPEAR HERE NOW..." He stepped forward, letting us see each other more clearly. He seemed to have a confused look on his face.

"EVEN THOUGH IT'S VERY IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO ESCAPE. AMAZING! I FEEL A SINCERE..." His face almost seemed to light up with a smile, only for it to quickly be replaced by something akin to surprise. "WAAAAAIT A SECOND! I STILL HAVE TO CAPTURE YOU! WHOOPSIE-DOOPSIE!"

" _Did he really just say something so stupid?"_ Chara asked as my soul formed and that magic field surrounded us, removing the fog from the immediate area. Once again, I had the chance to attack first and took it, but Papyrus started turned my soul blue while I was moving in. This led to another glancing blow on his side as I tried to keep my balance. Three bones then came towards me and I backed away, now able to jump over the two smaller ones. The third was bigger and clipped my foot, making me tumble onto the hard icy ground in an awkward way, hurting my main arm.

" _Frisk, get up and..."_ I didn't need to be told at this point what to do. I pushed myself to my feet and took off at Papyrus again, this time controlling myself and getting a good solid hit in. Unfortunately, that also sent searing pain up my arm. I grabbed it with my other hand, cradling it against my body.

"AGAIN HUMAN, TRY JUMPING UP." The same attack, two small bones and one larger one, came at me. This time I was able to clear all three, and I heard Papyrus whisper "Nyeh heh heh!" Well, he did his best impression of a whisper. A thought popped into my head hearing that.

"I think... he's trying to teach me how to fight," I said quietly to Chara, hoping they could hear me since I couldn't see where they were. I didn't wait for an answer as I attacked again, this time using my off hand. While it did connect, it obviously didn't do as much damage. Papyrus seemed to take it in stride.

"HOW HIGH CAN YOU JUMP NOW?" He asked as more bones zipped my way. It started like the previous attack, jumping over two small bones and a bigger one, but then there were more of them, and then a couple really big ones. I almost made it over them, but panicked at the biggest ones and landed wrong between them, getting a hard smack against my already hurt arm for my trouble. Thankfully, that was the last bone from that attack.

Once again I got up and struck at him with my other hand, though since I wasn't used to using it my aim was off, making me hit his hip at an odd angle. Without the glove, my hand got scraped and bruised.

"YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" I had to move back as more bones began coming at me. Once I was a bit away I jumped over the large bone sliding across the ground towards me, only to get surprised by another floating in the air behind it. I was too high in the air to get down and dodge it, thus it crashed into me and slammed me into the ground, knocking the air out of me. A couple of small bones barely missed me, but the next big one found its mark against my face as I struggled to get back up.

" _Frisk! Can you get up?"_ Chara sounded worried. Hearing someone actually caring about how I was gave me the determination to get up. However, one eye really hurt and I kept it shut. I knew I had to fight harder, so I ignored the pain in my main arm and gave it my best, hitting Papyrus square in the middle. I thought I had gotten him good, but when I looked up at him, it was clear he still had plenty of fight left to spare. I collapsed down, my second wind spent, as I saw more magic bones coming.

"I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY!" Three large bones came towards me, and I had nothing left to fight with, so I merely ducked into a ball and put my hands over my head, like I saw in a video once about safety. It didn't really help much when the first one smashed against me, knocking me over. The other two never came though. Instead, Papyrus stood over me.

"WELL! YOU MAY HAVE CLEVERLY ESCAPED FROM YOUR JAIL BEFORE, BUT THIS TIME I'M UPGRADING THE FACILITIES. NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE TRAPPED, BUT YOU WON'T EVEN WANT TO LEAVE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" As I felt myself lifted into the air, I once again passed out.

The second time I woke up in Papyrus' garage, I could hear grumbling.

" _... and his stupid blue attack. How are we supposed to fight something I've never seen before, and how the hell did they learn to change soul colors? I didn't even know that was a thing."_ My shifting must have gotten Chara's attention, making them stop their rambling. _"Oh good, you're back. Now we can try again."_

"Nice to see you too... or wait, crap." I realized what I said just after it left my mouth, hoping that I didn't just say something stupid that would make them mad.

" _Yeah yeah. I know you're fine. They healed you again and put you back here."_ At first they sounded bored, but their next words almost sounded sincerely worried. Almost. _"You ARE okay, right Frisk? Magic can heal a lot, but after that many blows to the head something might have been missed. Least that's the only reason I can think of for you failing to beat that skeleton again."_ Their tone made it clear what they were really saying.

"I know I'm stupid! I always have been, okay?" I cried out, frustrated. "I get it. You tell me all the time that I can only get more stupid, but not by much. You don't have to remind me again Dad, I all ready know!" I was seeing red, not really away of where I was. My hands were balled into fists as I had jumped up, yelling at the air in front of me. After nothing happened for a few seconds, I blinked and looked around, realizing that I was actually not in front of... him... but in a small shack inside the mountain. I slumped back down, feeling winded all of a sudden while holding back tears. I wouldn't let myself cry anymore.

" _Whoa, where was THAT during the fight? That much anger could've done some serious damage."_ I ignored Chara, instead focusing on calming down. I looked around and noticed everything was the same, except the food bowl had been refilled and had a hotdog cut up on the top. I scarfed that down, took a minute to breathe, then stood up.

" _Good. Now that your little crybaby tantrum is over, we can get back out there and try again. I don't think this Undyne monster will take much longer, so let's get out before they get here."_ I gave no reply, just leaving the garage and heading back towards where I knew Papyrus was waiting again. This time... this time I was going to try something.

The fog grew thick once more, and I saw Papyrus before I heard him.

"BACK AGAIN, EH? I SUPPOSE IT'S MY FAULT..." His head lowered, making him look at the ground. "I TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT I WOULD MAKE YOU SPAGHETTI. IT'S ONLY NATURAL THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO SEE ME IN THE DIRE HOPE THAT I WOULD MAKE YOU SOME."

" _I don't know if he's stupid or just really dense,"_ I heard Chara remark, which of course Papyrus couldn't hear.

"Shut up," came my reply. I wasn't sure if Papyrus heard me or not, but he continued as if he hadn't.

"WELL, I UNDERSTAND. PAPYRUS IS HUNGRY, TOO! HUNGRY FOR JUSTICE." And with that, we were in a fight again. This time, rather than try to rush in and stumble when my soul changed color, I just stood there and braced myself. I could feel, as well as see, when the change happened, but there was no awkwardness this time. Still, this gave Papyrus time to launch his first attack.

It was easy enough to jump over now. Two hops and a jump is all it took. When that was finished, I stood there, waiting for the next set of bones. Papyrus said something, but I was concentrating on the large white bones coming at me. This time I was able to clear all three of the really large ones without a scratch. When done, I didn't try to attack.

" _Um, Frisk? What are you doing?"_ Chara asked, but I paid them no mind. I had another bunch of bones coming, and had to be ready. I jumped, but not too high because of the floating bone, then jumped over two more small bones, but got clipped by the second, before having to jump over another large one, but prepared for a floating one this time too. All in all, not a bad wave.

Once again, I made no move to hit Papyrus.

" _Hey, Earth to Frisk. There's a dirty lying skeleton in front of you attacking with magic. Maybe you want to take care of him?"_ I acted like I couldn't even hear Chara. Instead, I listened to Papyrus talk about being popular again, then sending faster bones. One of them was even blue, though lighter than my soul, so I let that one pass through me. Just as I thought it was over though, I felt a hard smack against my back, forcing me face first into the snow. I should have seen that coming, since it's what happened with the first fright with him, but hey, I'm stupid. Even Chara knew that. Speaking of Chara...

" _I know you can hear me! You need to actually do something, not just stand there getting hit!"_

"PAPYRUS, HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" Whatever else Chara was saying got drowned out. More bones made their way, and I easily jumped over all of them, except for the last one. It seemed that the loudmouth skeleton kept adding something new to the end of his attacks. This time it was several bones of different sizes close together and in a straight line, making it so I could only see half of it. Behind the tallest bone was a few more, and I didn't have a chance to correct myself before hitting a couple of them. I heard crunching as they broke apart, hoping some of that wasn't coming from my body.

" _I have no idea what you're trying to do, but ignoring me won't help."_

"PAPYRUS, UNPARRALELLED SPAGHETTOR!" This time, I was ready when, after dodging several bones, one came at me from behind. What I was not ready for was two pairs of bones coming from both directions, with only a small gap between each. I tried to move and jump so I'd pass between them all at the same time, but missed and got smacked down. I wasn't going to stay down though, and quickly got myself up, wiping away blood from a gash on my cheek. I was sure there were more open wounds, but I couldn't be bothered by them yet.

"UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME!" There was that name again. I couldn't dwell on it as more stacks of bones came by, hitting me twice more. It was getting harder to breathe, but whether that was from the cold air, the exertion, or something broken, I wasn't sure.

" _Grr, what is wrong with you!? I'm trying to help you, but you're just being stupid!"_ Chara yelled out, causing me to get angry again.

"It because you're calling me stupid," I said through clenched teeth, trying to be quiet enough that Papyrus couldn't hear. "I know I am. I don't need you reminding me of it. I'd rather get captured and wait for this Undyne than hear you call me that again."

" _You can't be serious. You'd risk your life, and possibly my unlife, just because you get your feelings hurt being called names?"_ I nodded, as the next attack came.

"THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!" Papyrus wasn't even looking at me anymore, staring off into sky as he imagined all this stuff. The resulting magic coming from each direction would've been easy to dodge, but I just stood my ground as they came closer.

" _Mmmmmmmmmmmm fine! I'm sorry for saying and implying you're stupid! Will you do something now!?"_ Chara apologized. That was the first time I heard them do that. I quickly jumped, a smile forming on my face.

"Thank you, that's all I wanted." The bones stood no chance of hitting me, and the attacks were over before I knew it.

" _Then you should've just said so. But now I don't know if you can win. It might be best to just lose and try again."_

"All right. That should be easy."

"MY BROTHER WILL...WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH." Papyrus was even more distracted thinking about Sans, and thus the bones were really small. I stood there, letting them hit me, glad they were the smaller ones and moving slower, so they didn't hurt as much. Even so, they still knocked me down. When Papyrus finally looked to me, he found me laying on the ground.

"YOU ARE... PERSISTENT! BUT, IT JUST WON'T WORK ON ME! I AM THE PERSISTENTEST! AND IF YOU THINK YOU ARE PERSISTENESTER, THAT IS WRONG. GRAMATICALLY WRONG! BECAUSE THE CORRECT FORM WOULD BE... NOT AS PERSISTENTEST AS PAPYRUS, THE PERSISTENTESTEST! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS LESSON."

" _No I did not, you grinning idiot!"_ I heard Chara yell out over Papyrus' cackling, which I thought was quite a feat. This time I didn't pass out and peeked when I could as I was brought back to the garage. Papyrus left, then came back soon with another cut hot dog which he put in the dog bowl again. Then I heard him writing on a new piece of paper, set it down, and leave again. After a couple of minutes, I sat back up. This time, I was still hurt since I hadn't slept and healed, but quickly remedied that with the hot dog and dog food.

" _So..."_ Chara started. _"Feeling better? Got all that 'ignoring me' business out of your system?"_

"Since you said sorry, yes. Thank you."

" _Yeah well, don't get used to it. I just figured if you were called that by humans on the surface, maybe I should stop calling you that. Besides, that's what friends do, right?"_ I smiled, glad to have what I thought was a genuine friend with me.

"Yeah, they do. I think. Either way, can you help me fight Papyrus? With the two of us, and the practice from the last time, I bet we can beat him." My confidence was starting to go up, and I was looking forward to finally getting past the delusional skeleton.

" _Sure thing, partner. Let's get out of here before whoever Undyne is arrives."_ I strode out, sure that this time, Papyrus wouldn't stands a chance. As I walked into the fog, I adjusted my glove, stretched my arms and legs, and got ready for the fight of my life.

"YOU'RE BACK AGAIN?!" I heard Papyrus shout out through the mist. "I FINALLY REALIZE THE TRUE REASON WHY. YOU... JUST MISS SEEING MY FACE SO MUCH..."

" _How delusional can one monster be?"_

"I'M NOT SURE I CAN FIGHT SOMEONE WHO FEELS THIS WAY." Wait, he wasn't going to stop fighting NOW, was he?

"BUT MOSTLY... I'M GETTING REALLY TIRED OF CAPTURING YOU!" He rubbed the back of his neck and looked kind of worn out.

" _I think... he's giving up. If so, that'll make things easier, since you won't get hurt trying to fight again. See if that's the case."_ Chara's suggestion sounded too good to be true, but I decided to try it anyway.

"Well, then why not stop trying to capture me?" I asked as nicely as I could muster.

"... OKAY... I GUESS I'LL ACCEPT MY FAILURE..." Somehow, with that, the mist disappeared and I could see clearly again. Papyrus was turned away from me, shoulders slumped.

"NYOO HOO HOO... I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU." Ouch. That hurt about as much as one of his bone attacks. "UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD, AND MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

" _What a loser. At least he finally seems to realize he is one. Right Frisk?"_ Chara asked. I folded my arms in front of my chest, a little smirk on my face.

"Right, what a loser," I replied to my friend. Apparently Papyrus heard me and turned around to look at me.

"HUH? WHY WOULD YOU... BERATE YOURSELF SO LOUDLY?"

" _WHAT!?"_ I swore that, for a brief moment, Chara was louder than Papyrus had ever been.

"IS IT BECAUSE... YOU DON'T THINK YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH TO BE MY FRIEND? NO! YOU'RE GREAT! I'LL BE YOUR FRIEND!"

" _Back off, bone boy! Frisk is MY friend! You'll just turn on him like all the other monsters!"_ Papyrus, of course, couldn't hear Chara, and he continued talking before I had a chance to say anything.

"WOW, I HAVE FRIENDS! AND WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM? YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMAN. I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE." At that, I perked up, and Chara seemed to, too.

" _Finally, this bag of bones is useful for something."_

"CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN, WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER. THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT... EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL. LIKE YOU!"

" _We already knew all that, bonehead! Tell us something we don't."_

"THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE!" Chara was silent for a moment, but then talking in almost a whisper.

" _That... that can't be true. He wouldn't... he'd have to kill so many... but, if all the rest are like this... and Mom even said..."_ I was going to try to say something to Chara, comfort them and find out what they were talking about, but Papyrus started shouting again.

"OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU... TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU'LL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS." Papyrus leaned forward towards me, hands outstretched ominously. "HE IS... WELL... HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER! EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY. I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY 'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMUR, CAN I GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!

" _Yeah, that sounds like him. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing. If he even does fight, he'll be an easy pushover."_ I could tell Chara had been listening to Papyrus there intently, since they seemed really interested in anything about the king.

"ANYWAY, THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING! I'LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HANG OUT! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" With that, the tall skeleton monster literally jumped from where he was, over my head, and landed behind me before heading back towards the town.

"Do... do you really think he wants to be my friend?" I asked Chara, though I thought I already knew the answer.

" _No way. He's just like the others. He'll take the first chance he has to betray you. I'm the only real friend you have down here."_ It was clear they were being completely serious, with no room for doubt.

"I thought so. I'm really glad you're with me." I talked while walking into the entrance of a cave. A warm breeze seemed to blow through, and the icy ground turned to normal ground.

" _You too, partner. Just keep listening to me, and everything will work out fine."_


End file.
